Associated Press
Saturday, May 5, 2007
NEW YORK, May 4 -- Wall Street rose moderately Friday on the strength of fresh news reports of corporate merger talks and employment figures that largely met expectations.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.24, or 0.18 percent, to 13,264.62, its fourth straight record close. The Dow also reached a new trading high, 13,284.53. It finished the week up 1.1 percent.
Broader stock indexes also moved higher Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced 3.23, or 0.21 percent, to 1505.62. The index's all-time closing high is 1527.46, reached in March 2000. The Nasdaq composite index rose 6.69, or 0.26 percent, to 2572.15.
Reports that Microsoft renewed negotiations to acquire or invest in Yahoo helped buoy investor sentiment Friday, as did word that Reuters Group received a preliminary takeover offer.
Beyond the buyout news, economic figures offered some nuggets for both bullish and bearish investors. The Labor Department said Friday that the nation's jobless rate rose to 4.5 percent in April; in the previous month, the rate stood at a five-year low of 4.4 percent. The slight increase in the rate had been widely expected.
Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.64 percent from 4.65 percent late Thursday.
Driving bond investors was the jobs report, which showed that employers added the fewest new jobs in more than two years. Although Wall Street doesn't want consumers to feel less secure in their jobs and perhaps curb their spending, a spike in wages in a tight labor market could stir concerns about inflation -- and that could force the Federal Reserve to be more aggressive about interest rates.
Movers
Yahoo jumped $2.80, to $30.98.
Microsoft declined 41 cents, to $30.56.
Reuters advanced $15.84, to $74.76.
Eastman Kodak lost $1.25, to $24.72, after reporting a first-quarter loss that was larger than analysts had expected.
Weyerhaeuser added $4.47, to $82.62. The forest-products company said it swung to a profit in the first quarter.
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