Starting late yesterday, a fresh round of rumors began to circulate about a possible Yahoo-AOL deal.  Then other sources and experts denied that anything’s taking place.  But investors still seem to be excited about the concept, sending Yahoo and AOL’s stocks up a significant amount in early trading.

To provide a little background information: Gina Chon and Anupreeta Das reported yesterday that "people familiar with the matter" said AOL has hired financial advisors for the sake of exploring options.

Then Kara Swisher poked a hole or three in the idea, citing "[o]nerous tax implications around a variety of deals; a need for complete cooperation from too many players; and the realization that a hookup of AOL and Yahoo might cause more problems than it solves."

Still, even though the Dow’s down 0.59 percent and the Nasdaq’s down 0.17 percent this morning, Yahoo’s stock has risen an impressive 0.42 percent so far today.

AOL’s stock is up an even more impressive amount, too: 1.44 percent.

So investors are definitely ready to support a Yahoo-AOL merger.  Perhaps that’ll help push the deal forward a bit, even if it does face lots of potential obstacles.