S&P 500 surpasses 2,000 for 1st time on takeover speculation

Dow Jones increases 108 points to 17,109.01. Nasdaq advances 0.6% to 4,567, the highest level since March 2000

US stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index above 2,000 for the first time, on signs of more corporate takeovers and stimulus for the European economy.

Burger King Worldwide Inc added 16 per cent after saying it's in talks to buy Tim Hortons Inc and move its headquarters to Canada. InterMune Inc surged 36 per cent after Roche Holding AG purchased the biotechnology company for $8.3 billion. Morgan Stanley climbed to the highest since 2009 and JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc added more than 2 per cent.

The S&P 500 rallied 0.6 per cent to a record 2,001.12 at 12:05 pm in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 107.79 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 17,109.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.6 per cent to 4,566.61, the highest level since March 2000.

"This number, 2,000, is a pretty significant number from psychological and financial points," Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Cincinnati-based Schaeffer's Investment Research Inc, said in a phone interview. "We're seeing the continuation of a strong momentum that occurred in July." The S&P 500 has risen almost 100 points since its low during trading on August 7, climbing on nine of 12 days to erase the 3.9 per cent drop that began on July 24. The US equity benchmark has advanced for the past three weeks and more than $900 billion has been added to the value of American equities.

Futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange halted for as long as four hours on Sunday because of a technical problem, affecting contracts from US stock indexes to Treasuries, oil and gold. CME Group Inc suspended all of its Globex electronic-trading markets except for Malaysian equity-index derivatives, according to its website. Trading, which was scheduled to start at 5 pm Chicago time for some products, began at 9 pm.

All 10 of the main S&P 500 groups advanced on Monday, with health-care and financial stocks rising at least 0.8 per cent for the best performance.

Morgan Stanley added 3.1 per cent to $34.52 for the biggest gain in S&P. JPMorgan Chase advanced 2.2 per cent to $59.79 for the biggest increase in the Dow.

Burger King, the burger chain that is majority-owned by 3G Capital, added 16 per cent to $31.50. US shares of Canada's Tim Hortons jumped 19 per cent to $75.01.

Burger King would create the world's third-largest fast-food chain by merging with Canada's bigger seller of coffee and doughnuts, the companies said in a statement. Canada's corporate tax rate is 26.5 per cent, compared with 40 per cent in the US, according to audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG.

InterMune surged 36 per cent to $72.99. Roche will buy the unprofitable company that's awaiting US approval of its biggest drug, for $74 a share, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said on Sunday in a statement.

Ann Inc, the owner of the Ann Taylor chain, rose 6 per cent to $39.78, the highest in six weeks.

The company could be valued at $50 to $55 a share to a potential acquirer, such as a private-equity buyer, according to a letter on Monday from investment firms Engine Capital LP and Red Alder LLC.