Corporate deals drive US stocks back to record highs

Jos. A Bank jumps after sweetened offer from Men's Warehouse

2/24/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is back in record territory after the latest round of corporate deals made investors more confident.

RF Micro Devices jumped 16 percent after the chipmaker said it was combining with TriQuint Semiconductor. TriQuint soared 22 percent.

The S&P 500 rose 21 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,857 as of noon today, slightly above its record high close of 1,848 reached on Jan. 15.

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The Dow Jones industrial average rose 195 points, or 1.1 percent, to 16,285 and the Nasdaq composite rose 45 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4,308.

Jos. A. Bank rose 8 percent after Men’s Wearhouse increased its offer for the clothing retailer by 10 percent. Men’s Wearhouse rose 7 percent.