US stocks have opened slightly higher after last week's records amid a fresh burst of merger and acquisition activity on Wall Street.
Five minutes into Monday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 10.69 points (0.06 per cent) to 16,934.97.
The S&P 500 gained 1.39 (0.07 per cent) at 1,950.83.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 4.55 (0.11 per cent) to 4,325.95.
Tyson Foods, the world's second-largest meat processor, won the bidding war for sausage and hot dog maker Hillshire Foods against rival Pilgrim's Pride with an offer worth $US8.6 billion ($A9.30 billion).
Hillshire shares jumped 4.8 per cent, while Tyson fell 1.4 per cent and Pilgrim's lost 1.0 per cent.
Antiviral drug developer Idenix Pharmaceuticals soared 232 per cent after Merck offered $US3.85 billion for the company, mainly interested in Idenix's hepatitis C drugs.
And Wall Street's king raider, Carl Icahn, sent shares of discount chain Family Dollar rising 13.4 per cent after disclosing he had a more than nine per cent stake in the company.
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