Stocks in U.S. Begin Week to the Upside

Updated from 8:08 a.m. EDT

The U.S. stock market was rising at the open Monday as traders in New York returned from a long holiday weekend to find lower oil prices and a round of merger agreements.

Just after the session began, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 84 points at 11,373, and the S&P 500 was adding 8 points at 1271. The Nasdaq was ahead by 29 points at 2274.

Domestic shares haven't traded since last Thursday, and that was a half session. The market was closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday.

As the new week got underway, investors were greeted with a host of merger news, and the dealmaking appeared to help brighten the mood.

The biggest transaction will see Germany's Fresenius, a seller of intravenous drugs, buy APP Pharmaceuticals (APPX Quote) for roughly $3.7 billion.

Also, China Oilfield Services, a unit of CNOOC (CEO Quote), is set to pay $2.5 billion for Norway's Awilco Offshore.

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Back in the U.S., the directors of Anheuser-Busch (BUD Quote) could be in for a fight to keep their jobs after Belgium's InBev, which is trying to take over the Budweiser maker for $46 billion, said it would try to replace the board.

On the friendlier side, GE's (GE Quote) NBC Universal division is being joined by Blackstone (BX Quote) and Bain Capital to purchase The Weather Channel. Terms of the acquisition weren't released, but reports put the value at around $3.5 billion.

Elsewhere, General Motors (GM Quote), whose shares have been trading at multidecade lows amid worries about its financial health, may be close to firing thousands of white-collar workers, according to a published report. The Wall Street Journal also said GM might part ways with or end additional brands.