US stocks open higher after Bin Laden killed

NEW YORK: US stock markets opened strongly higher Monday after Navy SEALs killed Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a secret mission in Pakistan.

At 1400 GMT the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 44.61 points (0.35 percent) at 12,855.15.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 6.67 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,880.21, while the broad-based S&P 500 index was up 4.84 points (0.35 percent) at 1,368.45.

Shares were broadly higher with the exception of basic materials and energy, as oil and commodity prices dropped in early trade.

The upward push came after a late-night announcement Sunday by the White House that US forces had stormed a villa in a northern Pakistan city to kill the Muslim extremist behind the September 11, 2001 and other attacks on US and other countries since the 1990s.

S&P Indices analyst Howard Silverblatt said the effect on the markets would likely be shortlived.

"Overall, the impact to the US markets, oil, and the dollar should be a short-term positive, with world and US reaction to any forward events, or lack of events, more lasting," he said in a report.

"As bad as it is to rejoice in anyone's death, the close of this chapter will bring a feeling of relief to the markets, potentially reduce inherent risk costs to oil, and give the market -- and us all -- some closure," he said.

In merger and acquisition news, Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world's largest generic drug maker, announced the takeover of biopharma firm Cephalon in a $6.8 billion deal, weeks after Cephalon rejected a hostile $5.7 billion bid from Canadian firm Valeant.

Teva offered $81.50 in cash for all of Cephalon's shares outstanding, representing a 39 percent premium on Cephalon's share value at the end of March, before Valeant launched its takeover bid.

Teva shares were up 2.4 percent to $46.85, while Cephalon's surged 5.1 percent to $80.96.

The bond market was unchanged from late Friday, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury at 3.30 percent and the 30-year bond yield at 4.41 percent.