Merger Rumors Boost Price Of Chase Stock

Shares of Chase Manhattan Corp. surged Thursday as rumors swirled that it could merge with Chemical Banking Corp. to form the nation’s largest bank company.

Chase’s shares touched a 52-week high of $55.75 late in the day before closing up $3.87-1/2, or 7 percent, at $54.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Traders attributed the rise in part to speculation that Chase, the nation’s sixth-largest bank company, could combine with Chemical, the nation’s third-largest bank.

The talk was fueled by a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. report released Thursday extolling the virtues of such a merger. Chase and Chemical declined to comment.