US STOCKS-Biotechs lift Nasdaq; Dow trims losses
(Updates to midmorning)
By Jennifer Coogan
NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - Tech shares rose on Thursday after biotechnology company MedImmune Inc. MEDI.O put itself up for sale, lifting other shares in the sector, while blue chips erased earlier losses.
Stocks had opened lower after retailers reported stronger-than-expected March sales but gave a gloomy outlook for April. Worries that chances for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut had faded even further also weighed on sentiment.
The American Stock Exchange index of biotechnology companies .BTK was up 1.5 percent, its biggest gain in three weeks, after MedImmune said it had hired Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of the company. For details, see [ID:nL12123401].
"The market is still flush with liquidity, and M&A will continue. That's a positive driver for stocks," said Phil Orlando, chief portfolio manager, at Federated Investors in New York. "But the underlying fundamentals of the market are still pretty sloppy."
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 13.81 points, or 0.11 percent, at 12,498.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 2.12 points, or 0.15 percent, at 1,440.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 8.47 points, or 0.34 percent, at 2,467.78.
MedImmune shares rose 12.6 percent to $42.61 on the Nasdaq. Gilead Sciences (GILD.O) were up 2.5 percent to $78.68 and Amgen Inc. (AMGN.O) stock was up 1.9 percent to $57.37.
Blue chips fell earlier as retail sales reports painted a murky picture of the health of consumer spending, the main driver of economic growth.
