Stocks rallied in the last hour of trading on Monday as a series of big mergers attracted investors. Huge deals in the mining, steel, and consumer healthcare sectors were announced Monday, giving stocks a much needed boost after a difficult week. Phelps Dodge said it would buy two major Canadian nickel miners, Inco and Falconbridge, in a $40 billion deal that would create the largest mining company in North America. The merger is the largest announced mining deal in history. Arcelor accepted an improved $32.2 billion takeover bid from Mittal Steel. The merger will create a world steel giant three times larger than its nearest rival. Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson announced a $16.6 billion deal to buy the consumer products unit of fellow Dow component Pfizer. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 56.19, or 0.5 percent, to 11,045.28. After their deal was announced, Johnson & Johnson shares fell 1.8 percent while Pfizer shares rose nearly 2 percent. Intel rose 1.6 percent after the chipmaker said it plans to start shipping new processors for servers this week. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6.06, or 0.5 percent, to 1,250.56. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 12.20, or 0.6 percent, to 2,133.67, led by gains in the software and internet sectors. Wireless chipmaker Qualcomm rose 1.5 percent after a brokerage upgraded the company's shares. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 42.17 to 7,996.79. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 8.88 to 1,874.93. And the Russell 2000 index rose 8.50 to 698.64.
