The market opened with gains and drifted higher throughout the morning. The move has been broad-based, as each of the major equity averages is higher by at least 0.7%. The year’s largest IPO, AXA Equitable (EQH), was disappointing as the shares opened below the deal price of $20 per share. Oil prices are little changed after approaching $72 a barrel, their highest level since 2014. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the consumer price index rose 0.2% in April, below expectations for the inflation measure to have climbed 0.3% from a month earlier. The core CPI, excluding food and energy, was up 0.1% month-over-month, below the 0.2% increase that had been forecast. Initial jobless claims were unchanged at 211,000 in the week ended May 5. In Europe, the Bank of England maintained its Bank Rate at 0.5% and left its corporate bond purchase and government bond purchase plans unchanged. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Booking Holdings (BKNG), formerly known as Priceline, fell 5.5% after the company’s outlook for the new quarter disappointed despite results for the first three months of the year that beat expectations… Eli Lilly (LLY) announced a definitive agreement to acquire ARMO BioSciences (ARMO), a late-stage immuno-oncology company developing a pipeline of product candidates designed to activate the immune system of cancer patients to recognize and eradicate tumors, for $50 per share, or approximately $1.6B, in an all-cash transaction. ARMO shares jumped 67% after the deal announcement, while Lilly shares added 2%… Shares of Macy’s (M) are slipping after Morgan Stanley analyst Kimberly Greenberger downgraded the stock to Underweight, a sell-equivalent rating, citing the retailer’s ongoing negative store-only comparable sales and continued decline in return on invested capital. Adding to weakness in the retail space, shares of L Brands (LB) have declined nearly 9% after the parent company of Victoria’s Secret reported that its April comparable sales were flat compared to last year and it now sees first quarter earnings at the lower end of its previously announced 15c-20c per share range. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Dynavax (DVAX), which rose 17% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral, saying it believes TLR9 agonist SD-101 is an underappreciated asset. Also higher were Prestige Brands (PBH) and Green Dot (GDOT), which gained a respective 23% and 15% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was Synchronoss (SNCR), which slipped 18% after it said it requires more time to comply with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements. Also lower were MDC Partners (MDCA) and Nuance (NUAN), which fell 35% and 12%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 194.37, or 0.79%, to 24,736.91, the Nasdaq was up 53.93, or 0.73%, to 7,393.83 and the S&P 500 was up 21.12, or 0.78%, to 2,718.91.