Stocks Open Higher on CIT Deal

Stocks showed initial gains in the first half-hour of trading, largely driven by a deal that could allow CIT Group, a retail and small-business lender, to stave off bankruptcy.

CIT reached a deal to receive $3 billion in rescue financing from a group of bondholders. Under the deal, CIT's main bondholders would give CIT $3 billion at an initial interest rate of about 10.5 percent, according to a New York Times report.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 54 points, or 0.6 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.5 points, or 0.6 percent. The Nasdaq added 7 points, or 0.4 percent.

The gains follow last week's 7.3 percent advance last week, marking Wall Street's best week in four months.

One stock to watch today is Human Genome Sciences, which said in a statement with GlaxoSmithKline that a drug the companies developed against lupus met its primary benchmark in its clinical trials. Shares of Human Genome Sciences, based in Rockville, more than doubled in recent trading.

-- Kim Hart