2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers

Alltel Corp.''s (AT: chart) is being taken private for $24.8 billion by TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners. As a result shares rallied 6.5%.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC: chart) said that it would sell its interest in two Qatari operations to Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY: chart) for $350 million, the latest in a line of divestments by the company to lower its debt. Shares surged 1.5%.

Amgen (AMGN: chart) rose 0.44%, after the U.S. government approval of a potential rival anemia treatment was delayed.

Cytyc (CYTC: chart) added 21.54%, after Hologic (HOLX: chart) agreed to buy it for $6.2 billion in cash and stock. The deal combines two major players in women''s health care. Hologic fell 6.8%.

Lowe''s (LOW: chart) fell 3.89%, after the company said that its first-quarter net dropped 12%, as the country''s second-largest home-improvement retailer missed both internal and Street expectations and cut its fiscal-year earnings guidance.

American Superconductor (AMSC: chart) added 7.5%, after the company received a $1.7 million contract from Consolidated Edison for work on new technology for New York City''s power-delivery system as part of an initiative funded largely by the Department of Homeland Security.

EGL (EGL: chart) gained 3.3%, after Apollo Management LP affiliate CEVA Group PLC added $1.50 per share to its buyout offer for Houston logistics concern, hoping its $2.01 billion bid seals the deal in its battle with EGL Chief Executive James Crane to acquire the company.

Salesforce.com (CRM: chart) shares rallied 4.3% on reports that the developer of customer-relationship management software is in partnership talks with Google Inc. (GOOG: chart).

Yahoo (YHOO: chart) is working on a takeover offer for Bebo, the U.K.''s top social-networking site, and might be willing to pay $1 billion for it. Shares slipped 0.3%.

1:00PM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European stocks closed down, dragged by GlaxoSmithKline.

European stock markets closed mostly in the negative territory Monday, dragged lower by a steep decline in the shares of GlaxoSmithKline and weakness in the bank sector. Strength among resource stocks and a takeover bid for EMI failed to lift the sentiment. Shares of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline dropped 5% after research showed that diabetes drug Avandia significantly increased cardiovascular risk. Banking group UniCredit dropped 5.7% as it announced it was buying Italian peer Capitalia for 21.8 billion euros.

On the positive side, mining giants Anglo American and Kazakhmys rose more than 3.2%. EMI shares soared 9.3% after the British music group recommended a 2.4 billion-pound cash offer from private equity group Terra Firma. Elan surged 18% after the Irish biotechnology firm and development partner Wyeth said they would start a Phase 3 trial of Bapineuzemab for trading patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer''s disease. The German DAX Xetra 30 added 0.2% at 7,619.31, the U.K. FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% at 6,636.80 and the French CAC-40 lost 0.2% at 6,089.91.


11:30AM Market averages traded in a tight range. China''s $3 billion investment in Blackstone Group gave a boost.

U.S. stocks traded in a tight range on merger Monday, reflecting profit-taking. Tech stocks were some of the most notable gainers amid merger speculation in internet shares. Sirius Satellite (SIRI: chart) rose 3%. News of a $25 billion takeover deal for mobile phone company Alltel Corp. (AT: chart) supported the telecommunications sector. Shares in Alltel advanced 7%. Big-cap stocks were trading lower. Alcoa (AA: chart) was a leading decliner on the Dow, falling 1.5%.

In other corporate news, Blackstone confirmed an agreement under which the Chinese government will buy $3 billion of non-voting common units at a purchase price equal to 95.5% of the IPO price. The deal signals China''s determination to earn higher returns on reserves. Blackstone said it hopes to raise as much as $7.75 billion from its IPO as well as China.

In earnings-related news, Campbell Soup Co. (CPB: chart) rose 2.5% after it posted higher-than-expected quarterly profit and lifted its full-year earnings forecast. Lowe''s Cos. (LOW: chart) fell 3.2% after it posted Q1 earnings that missed estimates by a penny and cut its 2007 profit outlook. The Dow Jones was up 8.94 points, or 0.07%, at 13,565.47. The Standard & Poor''s 500 Index was up 3.96 points, or 0.26%, at 1,526.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 21.46 points, or 0.84%, at 2,579.91.