Stocks rise after oil rebound, Nasdaq nears dot-com bubble highs

NEW YORK — Stocks were moving higher Friday as oil prices recovered from their decline the previous day. Strong earnings from Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants and Nike also helped lift the market. The Nasdaq composite index was close to reaching the all-time high it set at the height of the dot-com bubble.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow rose 168.62 points, or 0.9 percent, to 18,127.65. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 18.83 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,108.10. The Nasdaq composite rose 34.04 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,026.42.

The Nasdaq came close to the record high of 5,048 it set in March 2000. It has taken the Nasdaq more than 15 years to recover from the dot-com bubble, while the S&P 500 and Dow recovered their losses in 2007 and 2006, respectively.

ENERGY: After dropping more than 3 percent Thursday, crude oil rose $1.76, or 4 percent, to $45.72 a barrel.

Energy stocks rose far more than the rest of the market. The S&P 500’s energy sector gained almost 2 percent.

EARNINGS: Nike jumped nearly 4 percent after reporting quarterly results that beat expectations.

MALL MERGER: Simon Property Group raised its buyout offer for competitor Macerich to $95.50, but Simon said it was their “best and final offer.” Simon Property rose 5 percent while Macerich fell more than 4 percent.

Investors had expected Simon to raise its offer more, and expect Macerich to walk away from the deal.

VOLATILITY: Four times a year, the stock market experiences a surge of buying and selling due to a phenomenon known as “quadruple witching,” which is when four types of options and futures expire all at once, as they did on Friday. The phenomenon can cause volume to rise sharply in the last hour of the trading day.

U.S. ECONOMY: Sentiment was dampened by data Thursday showing that weekly applications for unemployment aid edged up last week. That came after stocks surged Wednesday on news the Federal Reserve was in no hurry to raise ultra-low interest rates that have helped lift stock and bond prices.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 120.17 yen from Thursday’s 120.76 yen. The euro rose to $1.0811 from the previous day’s $1.0668.

BONDS: U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.93 percent from 1.97 percent late Thursday.