Stocks open higher on Wall Street

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening broadly higher on Wall Street as technology and health care stocks post solid gains.

Drugmaker Merck & Co. jumped 3 percent early Monday and Microsoft rose 1 percent.

Truck and engine maker Navistar rose 3.3 percent after Reuters reported that Volkswagen might buy the company.

Advertising conglomerate WPP sank 5.3 percent after Martin Sorrell said he would step down as CEO.

The S&P 500 index rose 12 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,668.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 157 points, or 0.6 percent, to 24,517. The Nasdaq composite climbed 27 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,133.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.85 percent.