Morning Market Report

The market is up 31 points. The Dow Jones was up 65 points to 16,514 — The market strengthened throughout much of the day but lost some ground in the afternoon. Biotechnology stocks were relatively strong and the leaders were in the healthcare, transport and financial sectors. Trading volume was below average in a 116 point range.

The healthcare sector benefited from news that UK GlaxoSmithKline and Swiss giant Novartis would create a new consumer healthcare business. There were also reports that US Pfizer could launch another bid for the UK’s AstraZeneca after a takeover approach was rejected — this deal would create the world’s largest medical company. And Valeant Pharmaceuticals International proposed a merger with Allergan, the maker of Botox.