US stocks rose on Tuesday, adding to recent gains, after deal news including a bid from FedEx for a Dutch peer suggested companies still see value in the market. Healthcare stocks led the advance on the S&P 500 with biotech shares up after four days of losses. The Nasdaq Biotech index added 1.8 percent, while the S&P 500 healthcare sector gained 0.8 percent.
Shares of FedEx rose 2.7 percent to $171.17 as it seeks to buy Dutch package delivery company TNT Express for $4.8 billion.
Two years ago, competition regulators blocked United Parcel Service's bid for TNT because, unlike FedEx, that suitor already had a strong European network.
Deals are "the rational outcome of this environment" of low interest rates, said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
Energy shares also gave the market support, with the sector up 0.8 percent as crude futures added to gains.
At 12:55 pm, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 75.28 points, or 0.42 percent, to 17,956.13, the S&P 500 gained 5.83 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,086.45 and the Nasdaq Composite added 23.70 points, or 0.48 percent, to 4,941.02.
General Motors shares fell 2.1 percent to $35.90 and the stock was among the day's most active after Canada agreed to sell nearly 73.4 million shares of the automaker to Goldman Sachs.
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