Stocks gained yesterday as oil prices fell, easing concern that higher energy costs will slow economic growth and feed inflation.
SunGard Data Systems, whose software handles most Nasdaq Stock Market trades, had the biggest rally in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index after seven buyout firms agreed to acquire the company.
The S&P 500 rose 2.86, or 0.2 percent, to 1174.28, led by financial shares. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 42.78, or 0.4 percent, to 10,485.65, for its first advance in five days. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 1.46, or 0.1 percent, to 1992.52, for its third consecutive gain, the longest winning streak in a month.
Crude oil for May delivery fell 1.4 percent, to close at $54.05 a barrel in New York, on speculation of ample supplies when global consumption peaks in the third and fourth quarters.
SunGard surged $2.81, or 8.9 percent, to $34.36. Silver Lake Partners is leading a group of buyout firms that will pay $36 a share for SunGard, or 44 percent more than the stock price on March 21, when the company said it received an offer.
Tiffany, the No. 1 U.S. jewelry retailer, jumped $1.74, to $34.35, on speculation it may be a takeover target.
Citigroup, the biggest financial services company, increased 25 cents, to $44.77. Bank of America, the third-largest U.S. lender, rose 54 cents, to $44.29.
General Electric gained 24 cents, to $35.97. The company may earn $1.82 a share this year, helped by better-than-expected profitability in its industrial businesses, Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst John Inch wrote in a note. He previously estimated GE would earn $1.80.
General Motors declined 93 cents, to $28.37. Profit at the world's largest automaker may decline to about 50 cents a share this year, below GM's forecast of $1 to $2, UBS analyst Robert Hinchliffe wrote in a report.
An S&P 500 measure of retailers advanced 1.3 percent for the benchmark's second-best performance among 24 groups. Home Depot, the No. 1 home-improvement chain, climbed 56 cents, to $38.59. Walgreen, the top U.S. drugstore chain by sales, dropped $1.12, to $45.11, as higher selling costs dragged profit below analysts' estimates.
Other Indicators
• The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 2.72, to 7131.52; the American Stock Exchange index fell 7.38, to 1441.41; and the Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 0.15, to 615.12.
• Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by 4 to 3 on the NYSE, where trading volume fell to 1.35 billion shares, from 1.36 billion on Thursday. On the Nasdaq Stock Market, decliners outnumbered advancers by 7 to 6 and volume totaled 1.51 billion, down from 1.68 billion.
• The price of the Treasury's 10-year note fell $3.44 per $1,000 invested, and its yield rose to 4.64 percent, from 4.60 percent on Thursday.
• The dollar rose against the Japanese yen and the euro. In late New York trading, a dollar bought 107.14 yen, up from 106.33 late Thursday, and a euro bought $1.2879, down from $1.2934.
• Gold for current delivery rose to $425.90 a troy ounce, from $424.70 on Thursday, on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Commodity Exchange.
