US stocks gain as dollar store battle heats up

US stocks pushed higher in opening trade Monday despite continued tensions in Ukraine, with a new bid in the dollar store fight stirring up retailer shares. Ten minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 102.49 points (0.62 per cent) at 16,765.40. The broad-based S&P 500 added 11.01 (0.56 per cent) at 1,966.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 25.88 (0.58 per cent) to 4,490.80. Family Dollar was in play again just weeks after signing a deal to be taken over by Dollar Tree. Rival Dollar General made a counter-offer worth $9.7 billion, or $78.50 a share, $4 more than Family Dollar’s. Family Dollar shares gained 4.7 per cent to $79.61, and Dollar General was up 9.3 per cent to $62.78, while Dollar Tree fell 2.5 percent to $54.20, according to AFP.