Stocks Higher; Fed in Focus

U.S. Market
Stocks were higher at midday as equity and bond investors awaited comments from several Fed presidents who will be speaking today.

Volume remained low with much of the country recovering from an early winter storm during the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Conference Board reported the November employment-trends index increased to 115.21 compared with October's reading of 113.64. The recent reading coincides with the upbeat jobs reports from last week, and the index is at its highest mark in more than five years.

The Dow and the Nasdaq were 0.1% higher at midday, and the S&P 500 was up by 0.2%.

Stocks on the Move
Covidien (COV) announced it will acquire Given Imaging (GIVN) in a deal valued at $860 million. Morningstar analysts see Given's long-running search for a buyer coming to a favorable end, and they expect Given's specialized and well-established footprint in gastrointestinal diagnostics will help Covidien expand its presence in that market and further enhance its competitive advantages. The deal is expected to close by the end of March. Covidien shares were 0.3% higher at midday, and Given's shares had soared by more than 25%.

Sysco (SYY) shares had jumped by more than 12% by midday after the firm announced it is purchasing US Foods in a deal valued at $3.5 billion. Sysco will also assume $4.7 billion of US Foods' debt.

Foreign Markets
Stocks in Asia were mostly higher. The Shanghai Composite was flat, but the Nikkei 225 and the Hang Seng were up by 2.3% and 0.3%.

The FTSE 100 and the Paris CAC were 0.1% higher, while the DAX was up by 0.3%.