Dow sets 4th record close in a row

Wall Street extended its rally Thursday as robust earnings at Exxon Mobil and Aetna helped ground investors as they tried to reconcile divergent economic data.

The Dow Jones industrial average posted its fourth consecutive record-high close and the Nasdaq composite index reached a five-year high, assisted by surprisingly strong earnings from cable television giant Comcast.

The market was initially inspired by Commerce Department durable goods data that indicated capital spending jumped by the most in more than six years.

But stocks then fell on a report from the department that new-home prices fell at the steepest pace since 1970, despite a rise in sales.

Investors were particularly wary after the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it remained concerned about inflation even as the economy was slowing.

“Things on the horizon are becoming less and less visible,” said Hugh Moore, a partner with portfolio manager Guerite Advisors.

He said the economic reports pointed to a “slow, grinding deceleration,” but for the moment stock investors are trading on optimism. This contributed to Thursday’s erratic trading -- stocks spent most of the session in negative territory before a late-day rally.

Further direction about the economy will come today when the Commerce Department releases its third-quarter gross domestic product estimates.

The Dow rose 28.98 points, or 0.2%, to 12,163.66.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 6.86 points, or 0.5%, to 1,389.08. So far this earnings season, the index’s components on average have reported double-digit earnings gains for the 18th consecutive quarter.

The Nasdaq composite index added 22.51 points, or 1%, to 2,379.10.

Bond yields dropped on the economic data, as the steep plunge in new-home prices led many traders to bet that the Fed would keep interest rate hikes on hold. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.

“Even though a jump in sales suggests that the housing sector could be stabilizing, the fact that the median new-home sale price [was] down 9.7% from a year ago to create those sales still suggests weakness,” said John Canavan, market strategist at Stone and McCarthy Research Associates in Princeton, N.J.

Crude oil futures sank $1.04, to $60.36, in New York trading.

Scott Wren, equity strategist for AG Edwards & Sons, said the bond and stock markets should get a much clearer picture of the economy with the release of GDP estimates.

“There’s mixed economic data out there that’s not telling you one thing or another; it’s not telling you to take the markets higher or lower,” he said. “There’s still some uncertainty over what the Fed is thinking, but [Friday] you’ll get a pretty pure read with GDP.”

In other market highlights:

* Higher oil prices throughout most of the third quarter helped Exxon Mobil report a profit of $10.49 billion during the period, the second-largest quarterly profit ever for a U.S. company. Its shares rose 61 cents to $71.62.

* Aetna jumped $2.86, or 7.4%, to $41.39 after the health insurer reported a 28% increase in third-quarter profit. The Hartford, Conn.-based company also boosted its guidance for the full year.

* Comcast climbed $1.24 to $40 after reporting third-quarter profit that exceeded analyst expectations. Clear Channel Communications, which owns radio stations in Los Angeles including KIIS-FM (102.7) and KFI-AM (640), rose $3.13, or 9.7%, to $35.48 on the news that it was entertaining buyout offers. Burbank-based Walt Disney hit a five-year high, rising 78 cents to $31.98 for the top gain in the Dow average.

* Manhattan Beach-based Skechers powered its way to a five-year high, rising $3.39, or 12.5%, to $30.44. After the bell Wednesday, the casual-shoe maker reported earnings that exceeded analyst expectations.

* Harman International Industries surged $17.23, or 20%, to $105.50 for the top gain in the S&P; 500. The maker of audio equipment reported a profit of 85 cents a share in its fiscal first quarter.

The average estimate from analysts in a Thomson survey was 81 cents.

* Red Hat shares plummeted $4.68, or 24%, to $14.83 after rival Oracle said it would offer low-cost technical support for Red Hat’s Linux software. Oracle rose 10 cents to $18.72.

* Symantec shares fell $1.29, or 6.2%, to $19.49 after the maker of Internet security products said its earnings fell short of Wall Street projections during the third quarter.