US stocks jump on higher oil prices, Pfizer deal

The Dow Thursday finished more than 200 points higher on surging oil prices and merger activity on the eve of the closely watched US jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 211.86 points (1.20 percent) to 17,884.88.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 21.01 (1.03 percent) to 2,062.52, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 48.39 (1.03 percent) to 4,765.10.
US oil prices gained more than four percent to close above $50 a barrel, lifting petroleum stocks. Dow member ExxonMobil climbed 1.0 percent, while oil-services giant Halliburton added 2.3 percent.
Dow member Pfizer gained 2.9 percent on news that its $17 billion deal to buy Hospira would add a new portfolio of sterile injectable treatments and biosimilar drugs to Pfizer's broad pharma offerings.
Dow component DuPont jumped 3.1 percent following its announcement of two new board members as it continued to spar with activist investor Nelson Peltz. Peltz has called for a split-up of the company and proposed four board nominees.
The Walt Disney Company, another Dow member, rose 1.3 percent after tapping Disney parks and resorts chief Thomas Staggs as chief operating officer. The move was seen as succession planning for chief executive Robert Iger.
21st Century Fox, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, fell 5.4 percent as the company lowered its forecast for 2015.
Amazon jumped 2.5 percent on a bullish report by Morgan Stanley which said the online retailer is entering a phase of improving profitability.
Oil services company Weatherford International rose 3.0 percent after announcing it would cut 8,000 jobs in response to low oil prices.
Markets are expecting a modestly solid jobs report from the Labor Department on Friday. It is expected to show the US economy added 235,000 jobs, a slowdown from December, and the unemployment rate holding at 5.6 percent.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 1.81 percent from 1.74 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.42 percent from 2.34 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.