Markets open up on bin Laden news

May 2, 2011 (UPI NewsTrack) -- NEW YORK, May 2 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks opened in positive territory Monday on news that U.S. forces killed al-Qaida leader Obama bin Laden.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 47.30 points, or 0.37 percent, at 12,857.84 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Nasdaq rose 0.21 percent, picking up 6.10 points to 2,879.64.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 4.81 points, 0.35 percent, to 1,368.42.

"This was an open sore [and] it gives closure to a lot of people," Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor's Indices, told The Wall Street Journal after the death of bin Laden Sunday. "The short-term impact should be a positive one [of] less risk to oil [and] a lower fear factor overall."

U.S. President Obama announced late Sunday that U.S. forces conducted an attack on a compound in a city near Islamabad, Pakistan, and killed bin Laden in a gunbattle. No U.S. forces died in the raid.

The 10-year treasury note was at 3.30 in early trading.

The euro fell to $1.4854 from Friday's $1.4807. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 81.21 yen from Friday's 81.2203 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei Average closed up 154.46 points at 10,004.20, or 1.57 percent.