NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are climbing Wednesday after a survey of private businesses showed that
hiring was very strong last month. Panera Bread is soaring after the sandwich and soup chain agreed to
be bought by European conglomerate JAB for more than $7 billion. Consumer-focused companies like Amazon
and McDonald’s and industrial and transportation companies are trading higher.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 13 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,373 as of
12:15 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 141 points, or 0.7 percent, to 20,830.
The Nasdaq composite gained 27 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,925, above the record close it notched last
week.
ECONOMY: Payroll processor ADP said private U.S. businesses added 263,000 jobs in March, which was more
than analysts expected. It was also the biggest one-month gain since December 2014. The U.S. government
will release its own jobs report on Friday, and the strong ADP report suggests job growth may surpass
the 178,000 jobs analysts expected.
However a report on service companies was a bit disappointing. In March they continued to do more
business and hire more workers, but growth was slower than it had been in February and the results
weren’t as strong as analysts hoped.
The Russell 2000 index of small-company rose as much as 1 percent early on, but returned most of those
gains to pick up just 2 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,370.
PANERA BREAD RISING: Panera agreed to be acquired by JAB Holding of Europe for $315 a share. JAB has
quietly become a rival to Starbucks in recent years as it owns, or has a large stake in, a series of
brands that includes Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee, Stumptown Coffee, Keurig Green
Mountain and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Panera stock has jumped on recent days thanks to rumors about a
deal, and it rose $37.92, or 13.8 percent, to $311.92 Wednesday. The stock was trading at $230 a share a
month ago.
WORKING ON THE RAILROAD: Greenbrier, which makes railroad freight car equipment, announced a bigger
profit and better sales than analysts expected. It also said rail traffic is growing and announced a $1
billion agreement with a key customer. Greenbrier stock climbed $4.10, or 9.5 percent, to $47.05.
Airlines, railroads and trucking companies also climbed. Among other industrial companies, Caterpillar
rose $1.60, or 1.7 percent, to $95.73.
SHOPPING SURGE: Consumer focused companies also made hefty gains. They were led by big names including
McDonald’s, which jumped $2, or 1.5 percent, to $131.29. Amazon rose $15.05, or 1.7 percent, to $921.88
and home improvement retailer Home Depot added $1.44, or 1 percent, to $147.78. Toy maker Mattel rose 44
cents, or 1.8 percent, to $25.41.
ENERGY: U.S. crude oil rose 22 cents to $51.25 a barrel in New York. Brent, the international standard,
gained 30 cents to $54.47 a barrel in London. Energy companies rose as well. Halliburton picked up 93
cents, or 1.9 percent, to $50.48 and Chevron added $1.18, or 1.1 percent, to $109.84.
BONDS: Bond prices slipped and yields inched higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.37
percent from 2.36 percent. Banks moved higher after a recent slump. Citigroup rose 72 cents, or 1.2
percent, to $60.40 and Bank of New York Mellon advanced 74 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $47.71.
GREEN SHOOTS: Agriculture products company Monsanto reported profit and sales that were far better than
analysts expected. Monsanto said profits from its corn and soybean businesses grew in the fiscal second
quarter. It also backed its forecasts for the year and said its sale to Bayer of Germany should close by
the end of the year. The stock rose $1.76, or 1.5 percent, to $115.97.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 111.25 yen from 110.65 yen. The euro fell to $1.0658 from $1.0670.
OVERSEAS: The FTSE 100 index in Britain gained 0.1 percent. France’s CAC 40 lost 0.2 percent and the DAX
in Germany fell 0.5 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
advanced 0.6 percent. The Kospi of South Korea finished little changed.
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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at
http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay