Wall St. opens June on a positive note: Stocks rise

Stocks rose slightly Monday as some improving economic data and a big tech deal helped Wall Street kick off the month of June on a positive note.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 29.69 points, or 0.2%, to 18,040.37 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 4.34 points, or 0.2%, to 2111.73.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 12.90 points, or 0.3%, to 5082.93.

June trading started as word of a huge tech deal came just before the opening bell. Intel said it will buy fellow chip maker Altera for $54 a share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $16.7 billion. The deal allows Intel to sell cheaper semi-custom made chips.

Shares of Altera (ALTR) jumped 5.8% to $51.68, while Intel (INTC) fell 1.6% to $33.91.

In economic news:

• Construction spending has hit a seasonally adjusted $1 trillion, the highest level in six years, the latest figures show.

Spending in the industry rose 2.2% in April, the Commerce Department says.

• Manufacturing activity picked up modestly last month in a sign that a recent slump in the sector may be easing.

A closely watched index of factory activity rose to 52.8 from 51.5 in April, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday, above the 52 expected by economists. A reading above 50 indicates that the sector is expanding, while below 50 means it's shrinking.

• Consumer spending was flat in April, Commerce reports, turning in the weakest performance in three months. Personal income rose a healthy 0.4%.

In Asia, Chinese factory data boosted China's Shanghai Composite Index, which was up 4% after falling last week. It also boosted Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.6%. Japan's Nikkei 225 bumped up less than 0.1%.

In Europe, where negotiations continue over Greece's bailout terms, indexes ended mixed. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.4%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.4%, while Germany's DAX climbed 0.2%.

Contributing: Kaja Whitehouse.