US stocks opened higher ahead of the release of the minutes of last month’s Fed meeting.
Although Chairwoman Janet Yellen outlined that the US economy cannot continue to handle a strong dollar, the minutes will give investors a chance to look for clues as to how soon the expected Fed interest rate hike will be.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 85 while the Nasdaq jumped 35 and the S&P 500 was 10 points higher.
The megadeal of Shell (LON:RDSB) and BG Group (LON:BG) sent US oil giants Exxon and Chevron’s share prices lower.
The two were supposed to be in play to consolidate and look to acquiring a company but Shell has drawn first blood.
Global fast food chain McDonalds was an early riser, up nearly 1% to US$97 despite Japenese customer numbers dropping by almost a quarter.
Electric vehicle pioneer Tesla Motors was up 2.5% to US$207 as it said it has upgraded the entry level car Model S.
Online TV and film streaming site Netflix is 2.8% higher to US$435 after Goldman Sachs upgraded its target price by $50.
Technology provider Xerox also benefitted from an upgrade, this time from Citigroup, as it rose more than 1.5% to US$13.
Mobile phone and tablet technology giant Apple received a downgrade from Societe Generale. Shares were flat at US$ 126.
Closer to home, FTSE 100 was 22 points higher after the blockbuster takeover of BG by Shell was announced.
The deal, worth a reported £47bn, sent BG shares rocketing 30% higher to 1,200p, while Shell’s shed more than 6% to 2,057p.