Buyout reports push stocks to mild advance
Stocks rose moderately Friday, carving out their fourth straight weekly gain amid a fresh batch of corporate takeover news.
Reports that Microsoft had renewed talks to acquire or invest in Yahoo helped buoy investor sentiment, as did word that British news and information company Reuters Group had received a preliminary takeover offer from a company it didn’t identify. There was speculation that financial data provider Thomson was the suitor.
Buyout news, which has figured prominently in shaping Wall Street’s largely upbeat mood in recent months, more than offset any negative effect from employment figures released Friday.
The government said payrolls last month grew by the smallest number of jobs in more than two years. The nation’s unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in April from 4.4% in March.
“The economic data suggest that the economy is not tanking and inflation is not accelerating and that the Fed is not going to upset the apple cart,” said Alan Levenson, chief economist at T. Rowe Price, referring to the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.24 points, or 0.2%, to 13,264.62, its fourth straight record close. The Dow also reached a new trading high of 13,284.53.
The blue-chip index has set 19 record closes since the start of the year and 41 since the beginning of October.
Broader stock indicators also moved higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 3.23 points, or 0.2%, to 1,505.62. On Thursday, the S&P; 500 moved above the 1,500 mark for the first time in nearly seven years, and it rose as high as 1,510.34 on Friday. The index remains below its record close of 1,527.46, which was reached March 24, 2000.
The Nasdaq composite index climbed 6.69 points, or 0.3%, to 2,572.15. Although the Nasdaq has risen alongside the Dow and the S&P; in recent sessions, it remains about halfway to its March 2000 high.
The Russell 2,000 index of smaller companies rose 4.01 points, or 0.5%, to 832.88.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Friday’s rally capped another week of gains. For the week, the Dow rose 1.1% after crossing 13,200 for the first time Wednesday, the S&P; 500 climbed 0.8% and the Nasdaq gained 0.6%.
The employment data released Friday sent bond yields lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.64% from 4.67% on Thursday.
The dollar fell against the yen and the euro, while gold prices rose.
Crude oil futures fell $1.26 to $61.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Friday’s takeover news sent the targeted companies higher. Yahoo rose $2.80, or 9.9%, to $30.98, while Reuters rose $15.84, or 27%, to $74.76.
In other market highlights:
* Forest-product company Weyerhaeuser jumped $4.47, or 5.7%, to $82.62 after reporting it swung to a profit from a loss.
* Eastman Kodak fell $1.25, or 4.8%, to $24.72 after the company’s first-quarter loss narrowed but still fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. The company has been trying to move beyond a shrinking film business and further into digital products.
* The U.S.-traded shares of EMI Group jumped 75 cents, or 8.4%, to $9.65 after the British recording giant said it had received a number of buyout overtures.
* In foreign markets, Venezuela’s main stock index tumbled 2.7% and its index of financial stocks sank 3.1% after President Hugo Chavez threatened to nationalize the country’s banks. Indexes rose 1% in Britain, 0.5% in Germany and 1.1% in France. Stock markets in much of Asia, including Japan and Hong Kong, were closed for holidays.
