NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 and Nasdaq are all positive in early trading. The Dow is up about 20 points. The Dow & S&P 500 closed at record levels on Friday and appear to be on track for more history-making highs today.
While stocks are moving up, volatility -- or "fear" -- in the market is back at low levels not seen since 2007. The VIX index fell below 11 Friday for the first time since before the financial crisis. It bounced slightly above 11 this morning.
Related: Calm before the storm? Volatility at a seven-year low.
Here are some things to watch today:
2. Deals, deals, deals in pharma and meats: Merck (MRK) announced earlier this morning that it was going to acquire Idenix Pharmaceuticals (IDIX), a Hepatitis C drug producer for $24.50 a share. Merck shares are down about a percentage point, and Idenix stock is up an eye-popping than 231%.
In other merger news, Tyson Foods (TSN) announced its plans to acquire Hillshire Brands (HSH) for $63 a share, ending its bidding war with Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) for the maker of brands like Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farm. Tyson stock is down 1.8%, Hillshire stock is up about 4.75%, and Pilgrim's Pride is trading 1.4% lower.
Related: Tyson ups bid for Hillshire, rival drops out
3. Hot money around Family Dollar, Dollar General: Famous hedge fund manager Carl Icahn, of Icahn Enterprises, announced his stake in Family Dollar (FDO) on Friday after the bell, and now the whole discount retail sector is drawing excitement. Family Dollar shares are up 15% this morning. Rival retailer Dollar General (DG) is up 11% as investors consider whether Icahn may be wanting the two companies to merge. Shares of Dollar Tree (DLTR) are also 2% higher.
4. Stocks to watch: Apple, Time Inc.: Apple's 7-for-1 stock split goes into effect today. The tech giant is issuing more shares to existing investors in order to bring down the price of the stock and bring in more retail investors. Apple (AAPL, Tech30) stock closed at about $646 Friday, but started trading today at $92.70 this morning. Shares have bounced around but are currently flat.
Related: Apple's cheap again! Time to buy?
Time Inc. (TIME), the magazine publisher, freshly spun-off of CNNMoney parent TimeWarner and begin trading today as their own company. Shares are down about 2% so far.
5. International movements: European markets are also quiet and relatively flat, with the FTSE 100 up around 0.2%.
Asian markets all ended with gains. The Nikkei in Japan rose by 0.3% after official GDP figures for the first quarter were revised to show the economy grew at a stronger than expected rate of 1.6% compared to the last quarter of 2013. The previous estimate for GDP growth was 1.5%.
First Published: June 9, 2014: 10:11 AM ET
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