U.S. Stock Indexes Start Higher As Investors Await Bear News

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks opened higher Monday after word that J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is in discussions to increase five-fold its acquisition bid for Bear Stearns Cos. to appease stockholders of the Wall Street investment bank.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 95 points in early morning trade to 12,456.32.

The S&P 500 climbed 10.28 points to 1,339.79, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 25.15 points to 2,283.26.

Shares of Bear Stearns soared nearly 67% at the start before the New York Stock Exchange halted trade pending news. The halt followed reports J.P. Morgan may boost its offer for the 85-year-old firm to $10 a share from an initial bid of $2 a share, with the sweetened bid valuing the firm at more than $1 billion. .

Monday's economic data includes existing homes sales for February from the National Association of Realtors at 10 a.m. Eastern time. .

Early commodities trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange had gold for April delivery up $2.70 to $922.70 a share. .

Elsewhere on the Nymex, Crude-oil futures were off 37 cents at $101.47 a barrel.

Shares of Tiffany & Co. gained 12.5% after the luxury-goods retailer raised its profit forecast for the current fiscal year. .

In overseas markets, shares in Taiwan paced Asian gains after a presidential vote propelled a China-leaning candidate into power in a landslide victory. In Tokyo, exporters fared well as Japan's yen weakened somewhat against the dollar.

European markets were mostly shuttered for the Easter holiday.

By Kate Gibson