Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with word shortened. 13 news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks ended higher Monday in a shortened Christmas Eve trading session, aided by flurry of deals which included Alcoa Inc.'s $2.7 billion sale of its packaging and consumer businesses.

The major indexes finished in the green after a shortened session Monday. One solar company surged 15%...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks finished higher in Monday's shortened trading session, aided by a flurry of M&A deals that included a $2.7 billion sale by Alcoa Inc. of its packaging and consumer businesses. In preliminary closing figures, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 106 points to 13,555, the S&P 500 Index gained 12 points to end at 1,497 and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 22 points to 2,713, with shares of Apple Inc. approaching the $200-a share mark. Apple's stock ended up 2.8% at $198.80.

Commodities prices closed mostly higher Monday following an uneventful, shortened trading session ahead of Christmas. Oil, gold and industrial metals rose slightly.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Treasurys were slightly lower Monday, pushing up yields, as firm stock prices decreased the appeal of fixed-income assets in extremely thin pre-holiday trading. U.S. bond trading will end early on Monday, and overnight Japanese and German markets were closed Monday for holidays. "With the holiday-shortened week, our expectations for any paradigm shifting events are pretty light," said David Ader, U.S. government bond strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital. "With the bench players now in the field until the New Year, we would err on the side of limited conviction for any moves over the next few trading sessions." The benchmark 10-year Treasury note was down 7/32 at 100 12/32, with a yield of 4.2%. The 30-year bond was down 10/32 at 106 9/32 with a yield of 4.61%. The two-year note was down 2/32 at 99 26/32 with a yield of 3.21%. On Wednesday, the Treasury Department will sell $22 billion in two-year notes, and on Thursday, it will sell $13 billion in five-year notes.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Airline stocks took an early turn into positive territory Monday, led by 3% gains for American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and US Airways Group . The Amex Airlines Index was ahead 1.5% in early trades at 37.04 points, drawing strength from lower fuel prices to outpace a 0.6% rise in the broader equities market. Volume is likely to be light in the shortened pre-holiday session, which wraps it all up ahead of Christmas at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

Stocks are set to rise Monday ahead of a shortened Christmas Eve trading session. Markets were higher in Europe and Asia.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Stock market futures help broadly steady ahead of a shortened Christmas Eve trading session Monday, with Alcoa Inc. among the stocks in focus after it agreed to sell its packaging and consumer businesses.

Ahead of a shortened pre-Christmas trading session, global signals are mixed for North American stock markets while the Canadian dollar has climbed above 101 cents US.

European shares edged higher in a shortened session on Christmas Eve.

Britain's top share index has risen in a shortened Christmas Eve trading session as banks regained ground and as generally firmer raw materials prices lifted commodity shares.

Reuters - Wall Street was set for a flat start on Monday in a shortened Christmas Eve trading session after an explosive rally on Friday.

Asian stocks started the week on an upbeat note with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 tilting higher in a shortened pre-Christmas session as investors bought resource shares after metals prices firmed Friday. In South Korean shares also were higher, led by gains for Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.