Stocks opened higher while

BP Amoco

(BPA)

and

Arco

(ARC) - Get Report

confirmed they're in talks about a "possible combination transaction."

According to published reports, BP Amoco, the third-largest oil company in the world, will buy Arco in a stock deal valued at about $25 billion.

The

Nasdaq Composite Index

was up 22 to 2441. The

Dow Jones Industrial Average

was up 73 to 9495. The

S&P 500

was up 12 to 1295. The

Russell 2000

was up 3 to 396.

TheStreet.com Internet Sector

index was up 17 to 646.

TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index

was up 1 to 113.

The 30-year Treasury bond was down 18/32 to 94 15/32, yielding 5.64%.

Most Up at Open -- NYSE

Vodafone (VOD) - Get Report, up 3 1/16 to 175 1/4

.

Most Up at Open -- Nasdaq

Amazon.com (AMZN) - Get Report, up 10 15/16 to 150

: The online book, video and music retailer said it plans to launch an online auction service.

Most Down at Open -- NYSE

Becton Dickinson (BDX) - Get Report, down 3/4 to 41 1/4

.

Most Down at Open -- Nasdaq

eBay (EBAY) - Get Report, down 6 1/4 to 148 1/4

: The online auctioneer fell in response to the Amazon.com plans.