The Dow Jones Industrial Average headed toward its highest close since early February on Monday, lifted by investor optimism about the latest deal activity and trade developments. A busy year for mergers and acquisitions continued as PepsiCo agreed to buy home-carbonation company SodaStream International for $3.2 billion, the latest move by the company to diversify away from sugary sodas and salty snacks. Pepsi shares were down 0.2%, while SodaStream added 9.4%. Meanwhile, Tyson Foods said it would buy Keystone Foods, a supplier of chicken nuggets to McDonald's and other companies, for $2.2 billion as part of its strategy to bolster its protein offerings. Tyson shares rose 1.3%. The Dow industrials climbed 0.3%, on track for the highest close since Feb. 1, while the S&P 500 added 0.2%. Both indexes have climbed in three straight sessions, with the S&P 500 closing in on its January record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was recently up 0.2%. Investors are now waiting to see if the S&P 500 can set a record after the index came within 0.5% of that level earlier this month before retreating. Stocks tied to commodities and global growth lifted large indexes Monday, with the energy, materials and industrials sectors rising. Some analysts expect strong economic and earnings figures to continue buoying large indexes and were encouraged by the latest trade headlines late last week. The US gold price gained 0.5% to record 1,190.10 US$/oz.
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