Midday Report: Stocks Positive as Focus Turns to Earnings, Arconic Shares Rise

Stocks rose Monday as Wall Street returned from a three-day break facing a big week for U.S. corporate earnings and saber-rattling between the U.S. and North Korea. Shares of MoneyGram International (MGI) - Get Report rose after Alibaba (BABA) - Get Report affiliate, Ant Financial, said it was raising its bid from $13.25 to $18 a share, valuing the company at $1.2 billion. This offer surpasses a previous offer from Euronet Worldwide of $15.20 a share. Shares of Alibaba were up. Shares of Arconic (ARNC) - Get Report popped after CEO Klaus Kleinfeld announced that he would step down and resign from the board of directors. The ouster came after the company's board learned that he sent a letter directly to Elliott Management, who had been pushing for Kleinfeld's ouster, without authorization from the board. Finally, Straight Path Communications (STRP) spiked after disclosing that another unknown company may pay more than $1.6 billion, which was AT&T''s previous bid, to purchase the company.