U.S. Stocks Rise As Banks Climb Before Federal Reserve Meeting

FILE - This July 16, 2013, file photo, shows a Wall Street street sign outside the New York Stock Exchange. Global stock markets started the new trading week strongly Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, as investors appeared to put last week's jitters behind them as they awaited the outcome of the latest policy meetings of the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan later this week. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are making solid gains Monday morning as energy companies rise with the price of oil. Banks are making some of the biggest gains as investors wait for the Federal Reserve to meet this week. Several technology companies are rising on deal news.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 92 points, or 0.5 percent, to 18,216 as of 11:32 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,148. The Nasdaq composite added 15 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,259.

Banks rose as investors hope the Federal Reserve will announce an increase in interest rates on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase rose 72 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $66.54 and Bank of America rose 22 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $15.72.

JACKPOT: Isle of Capri Casinos agreed to be bought by Eldorado Resorts for $23 per share, or $950 million in cash and stock. Combined, the companies own 21 casinos and race tracks. Isle of Capri stock jumped $5.1, or 30.5 percent, to $22.09 while Eldorado Resorts stock lost 26 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $13.99.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude added $1.02, or 2.4 percent, to $44.05 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose $1.02, or 2.2 percent, to $46.79 a barrel in London. Halliburton climbed 64 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $41.68 and Schlumberger added 50 cents to $76.83.

SAREPTA SURGING: Sarepta Therapeutics soared $25, or 88.8 percent, to $53.15 after the Food and Drug Administration approved its drug Exondys 51, a treatment for a type of muscular dystrophy. The drug treats Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare and deadly inherited disease that causes muscle weakness and eventually the loss of all basic movement. It usually causes death by age 25. The FDA extended its review in May and Sarepta stock has made some big moves in recent months as analysts wondered if the drug would win approval.

TECH DEALS: Information technology products distributor Tech Data jumped after it said it will buy the technology solutions business of Avnet for $2.6 billion in cash and stock. Tech Data says the deal will give it operations in 35 countries. Its stock rose $15, or 21.6 percent, to $84.34 and Avnet gained $3.47, or 8.8 percent, to $42.68.

Meanwhile, network control company Infoblox agreed to be bought by Vista Equity Partners for $26.50 per share, or $1.51 billion. It surged $3.44, or 15 percent, to $26.27.

FOCUSED: Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Abbott Laboratories' eye health business Friday for around $4.3 billion in cash. Abbott Medical Optics makes lasers and other equipment used for cataract surgeries and laser vision correction procedures as well as eye drops and cleaners for contact lenses. It had about $1.1 billion in revenue last year. Abbott stock edged up 27 cents to $42.14 and Johnson & Johnson gained 13 cents to $118.38.

SICK DAY: Health website operator WebMD slumped after it said CEO David Schlanger is leaving the company by mutual agreement. Schlanger is being replaced by President Steven Zatz, who is in charge of WebMD's advertising and sponsorship business. WebMD fell $3.24, or 6.2 percent, to $48.73 and it is down 27 percent since May 25.

STEP ON THE GAS: General Motors gained 95 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $31.92 after an analyst said auto sales, which are at record highs, should remain strong for several years. Analyst Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley raised his rating on GM to "Overweight" and raised his price target to $37 a share from $29.

BONDS: Bond prices edged lower. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.70 percent from 1.69 percent.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 101.68 yen from 102.42 yen. The euro rose to $1.1185 from $1.1151.

OVERSEAS: The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares climbed 1.4 percent and the CAC-40 in France rose 1.3 percent. Germany's DAX was 0.8 percent higher. South Korea's Kospi added 0.8 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.9 percent. Trading in Japan was closed for a holiday. Australia's stock market suspended trading after a couple of hours due to technical glitches. The S&P/ASX 200 finished little changed.

By MARLEY JAY - Sep. 19, 2016 11:40 AM EDT