Stocks Set Another Record, Top 4,500 Level

Stocks vaulted to new highs on Friday for the third day in a row, boosted by technical influences and evidence of renewed strength in the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 14.52 to 4,510.79, closing above 4,500 for the first time and topping its previous record set on Thursday.

Volume on the Big Board was very heavy at 442.74 million shares, the highest this year and the sixth-heaviest volume reading ever. The last time so many shares traded was on March 18, 1994, when 446.1 million shares changed hands.

But in a sign that investors may not have a lot of conviction, advancing issues barely edged out decliners on the New York Stock Exchange.

Traders attributed most of the gains, and the heavy volume, to Friday’s triple expiration of options and futures contracts.

The so-called “triple witching” expiration, which occurs every three months, can lead to wide price swings that have no link to the market’s overall direction.

“The impetus has come from the bigger-cap stocks, which are most affected by triple witch,” said A. Marshall Acuff, Smith Barney’s chief market strategist.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially Friday:

NYSE

Caremark International rose 1 5/8 to 21 5/8.

The health care company agreed to plead guilty in a federal kickback investigation and pay about $159 million in civil damages and criminal fines, The Wall Street Journal reports. The story said that the agreement, if finalized, would end a fouryear criminal inquiry that has hung over the company and depressed its stock price.

Time Warner rose 1 3/8 to 40 1/2.

The Senate passed a telecommunications overhaul bill on Thursday, but not before removing a measure that would have required Time Warner and other cable programmers to provide small cable companies the same volume discounts they offer to large cable companies.

Nokia’s American depositary receipts rose 6 to 54 1/2.

The Helsinki-based company, which makes telecommunications systems and equipment, said earnings per share for the first four months of the year rose to 4.63 markka from 2.87 markka a year ago.

NASDAQ

Medaphis Corp. fell 8 1/4 to 23 3/4.

The company, which provides businessmanagement services for doctors and hospitals, disclosed that it is the subject of a federal criminal investigation involving its billing and collections practices.

Orbital Sciences rose 2 1/4 to 20 1/2.

In the June 26 issue of BusinessWeek’s “Inside Wall Street” column, money manager Joan Lappin says the company is an attractive buyout target and sees its shares rising to 50 in two years.

Microsoft rose 2 1/8 to 87.

A federal appeals court Friday approved the government’s antitrust settlement with Microsoft Corp. over software discounting and disqualified the judge who originally had rejected it.

AMEX

U.S. Bioscience rose 3-16 to 4 13-16.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee recommended that the FDA approve Ethyol, a selective cytoprotective agent developed by U.S. Bioscience.