U.S. stocks edge up on a wobbly Wednesday
After bouncing around in negative territory for much of Wednesday, Wall Street edged mostly higher in late trading. Keeping a lid on stock prices were continued worries over a rise in the cost of borrowing and companies' raw materials.
The Dow Jones industrials ended 0.25 higher, while S&P 500 ticked up by 0.20 percent. The Nasdaq composite closed down by a scant 0.05 percent.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.03 percent on Wednesday from 2.99 percent on Tuesday, when it touched the 3 percent mark for first time since January 2014. Low interest rates have played an important role in the economic recovery of the last decade, and the yield on the 10-year note is a benchmark for many kinds of interest rates including mortgages. It has been climbing because investors expect higher economic growth and inflation.
Shares in Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda Pharmaceutical tumbled 7 percent to in Tokyo on Wednesday after the company confirmed it had revised its offer for an approximately 50 percent stake in Irish biotech company Shire to 46 billion pounds ($64.2 billion). Shire's board indicated that it would recommend that proposal to its shareholders, Takeda said in a statement. The two companies have until May 8 to reach a final deal, they said.
U.S. media conglomerate Comcast (CMCSA) offered to buy British broadcaster Sky for $30 billion, topping a controversial bid from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox (FOXA). The move opened up the possibility of a bidding war for Sky, whose stock spiked 4.4 percent to 13.63 pounds in London on the news.