Stocks Ended Higher, Lifted by Surge in Mergers

U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday, getting a lift from a heavy round of merger announcements, including AT&T’s planned acquisition of Time Warner. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 77.32 points, or 0.43%, to 18,223.03. The S&P 500 was up 10.17 points, or 0.47%, to 2,151.33. The Nasdaq Composite added 52.43 points, or 1.00%, to 5,309.83.

AT&T Inc.’s $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc. does more than create a behemoth in media content creation and distribution. Executives have said the deal also promises innovation in advertising.

The New York Times announced Monday that it has purchased The Wirecutter and The Sweethome, a pair of sister sites that dole out recommendations for various gadgets, tech products and home goods.

Oil prices dipped on Monday, with U.S. crude briefly falling below $50 per barrel, on news of the impending restart of Britain’s Buzzard oilfield and Iraq’s wish to be exempted from OPEC production cuts. Brent , the international benchmark for crude, settled down 32 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $51.46 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 33 cents, or 0.7 percent, to settle at $50.52.