On The Fly: Top stock stories at midday

Stocks opened sharply higher and moved to record highs as the prospects of a tax reform bill being passed and signed into law before the Christmas holiday spurred buyers to push the Nasdaq above 7,000 and the Dow closer to the 25,000 level. Oil prices also moved higher and are inching toward the $58 a barrel mark. Bitcoin continues to dominate conversations as bulls predict incredible levels as possible for the cryptocurrency and bears continue to await what they see as an inevitable collapse. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the NAHB housing market index improved to 74 in December from a revised 69 reading in November. In Asia, China's economic conference kicks off today and media reports indicate the 2018 GDP growth goal is expected to stay unchanged at "around 6.5%." COMPANY NEWS: It was "merger Monday," particularly in the snack foods space, as Campbell Soup Company (CPB) confirmed a roughly $5B deal to acquire Snyder's-Lance (LNCE) for $50 per share in cash and Hershey (HSY) announced a $1.6B deal to acquire Amplify Snack Brands (BETR) for $12 per share in cash. In other M&A news, Penn National Gaming (PENN) announced an agreement to acquire Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $2.8B and Reuters reported that Humana (HUM) is in advanced talks to buy Kindred Healthcare (KND) in partnership with private equity firms... CSX announced that President and CEO E. Hunter Harrison died on Saturday, just a day after the company had announced he was taking a medical leave of absence. His passing brought a chorus of acknowledgement of his position as an industry innovator, but also a number of questions regarding CSX's decision to hire him in March... Delta (DAL) said it has cancelled nearly 400 flights today, after nearly 1,000 of its flights were cancelled on Sunday, as it works to recover from a power outage at the Atlanta airport. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Akamai Technologies (AKAM), which jumped 14% after Paul Singer's activist fund Elliott Management disclosed a stake in the company on Friday after the close. Also higher were shares of Twitter (TWTR), which rose 8% after JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth upgraded the stock to Overweight and raised his price target to a Street-high $27 per share as he believes product improvements and user growth should drive revenue growth. Among the noteworthy losers was Scana (SCG), which dropped 3.5% after The State newspaper said that federal agents are looking into whether the company failed to reveal "material" information about the faltering nuclear project to investors, and whether its actions constitute fraud or general securities violations. Also lower was Penn National, which slid 5% following its deal announcement. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 185.69, or 0.75%, to 24,837.43, the Nasdaq was up 65.44, or 0.94%, to 7,002.02, and the S&P 500 was up 18.49, or 0.69%, to 2,694.30.