Last week, Facebook announced the acquisition of mobile messenger service WhatsApp for $19 Billion. WhatsApp will remain largely independent from the social network. The acquisition positions the company for even stronger growth on mobile phones, where advertising now makes up the majority of its revenue. Stocks jumped Monday, climbing to an all-time high as optimism over merger activity helped Wall Street erase this year’s early weakness. With the day’s gains, the S&P 500 turned positive for the year while the Nasdaq hit a 14-year high. More than two-thirds of companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange rose on the day, while 63 percent of Nasdaq-listed companies gained.

Article submitted by: J. Camilo Parra & David Gomez of the Capital Markets Lab (CML). To learn more about the Capital Markets Lab (CML) please visit https://business.fiu.edu/capital-markets-lab/.