Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, as investors eyed the release of U.S. home sales data later in the day and as markets continued to monitor developments in Ukraine.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 advanced 0.58%, the S&P 500 rose 0.31%, while the NASDAQ Composite edged up 0.26%.
Investors remained cautious as hostilities between Russia and Ukraine continued and the West prepared to step up sanctions against Moscow.
A joint statement from G-7 nations said they would "move swiftly to impose additional sanctions on Russia" because the latter has not moved to comply with the Geneva accord.
In the U.S., data on Friday showed that consumer confidence rose to a nine-month high in April, adding to signs that the economy is improving.
The University of Michigan reported that its consumer sentiment index came in at 84.1 this month, up from 80 in March and the preliminary reading of 82.6. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 83.0.
In the pharmaceutical sector, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) surged 2.69% after the U.S. drugmaker confirmed that it is interested in acquiring the Britain's Astrazeneca (AZN.LONDON) for about £58.8 billion. The acquisition would be one of the largest takeovers in the industry’s history.
Separately, Forest Laboratories (NYSE:FRX), up 0.40%, said it would acquire Furiex Pharmaceuticals (FURX.O) for up to $1.46 billion.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) added to gains, up 0.68%, after French officials imperiled the company's attempt to acquire Alstom (ALSO.PARIS) by urging the latter to consider a rival offer from Germany’s Siemens (SIEGn.XETRA).
GE chief executive officer, Jeffrey Immelt, was scheduled to meet French President Francois Hollande later Monday, after he was rebuffed by Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg over the weekend.
Among tech stocks, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) advanced 0.44% as the iPhone maker and Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) were reportedly heading toward the conclusion of their second U.S. patent trial regarding Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s Android operating system.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Charter Communications (CHTR.O) and Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN), scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.42%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.27%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.40%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.18%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.41%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 0.98%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on pending home sales.