Merger talk boosts Reynolds, Time Warner but Wall St ends flat

Megamerger buzz returned to Wall Street Friday on a mixed day for US stocks, with shares of Time Warner and Reynolds American both surging on news of separate takeover deals.

Tobacco giant Reynolds American shot up 14.0 percent after British American Tobacco launched a $47 billion bid to buy the 58 percent of the company it does not yet own.

Time Warner jumped 7.8 percent as the Wall Street Journal reported that telecom giant AT&T was in advanced talks to acquire the entertainment group. AT&T fell 3.0 percent.

Microsoft jumped 4.6 percent to top its 1999 record high after it reported a better than expected $4.7 billion in net profit.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 percent at 18,145.71.

The broad-based S&P 500 lost less than 0.1 percent at 2,141.16, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 percent to 5,257.40.