Stocks Say 'No Deal' to M&A

Few events get Wall Street's juices flowing like M&A activity, primarily because of the fat investment banking fees. Additionally, mergers signal that corporate executives are optimistic about the future (otherwise they'd be hoarding capital) and deals typically remove some supply of stock from the market, which is bullish if demand just stays the same.

But the broader market failed to capitalize on a number of deals announced Monday and speculation of more to come, most notably unconfirmed reports of a Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY Quote)-Sanofi-Aventis (SNY Quote) combination.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.03% to 12,490.78 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2% to 2441.09, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.1% to 1420.62, hurt especially by weakness in the financial sector. ...