Stocks rise on positive reports
NEW YORK – Stocks jumped Friday following a better-than-expected rise in profits at Research in Motion Ltd. and on word that Merrill Lynch may have lined up a cash infusion from a Singapore fund.
The Dow Jones industrial average capped a volatile week with a gain of more than 200 points and, posted an increase of more than 1.5 percent.
The developments seemed to allay investor fears that economic growth would succumb to tightness in the credit markets. Adding to the measured relief some investors felt, the Federal Reserve said it would continue its special biweekly auctions for banks as necessary to relieve strains in the short-term debt market.
The announcements came as the New York Stock Exchange set a record for volume in the first half-hour and hour of trading during what is known as “quadruple witching.” It marks the simultaneous expiration of contracts for stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures and often leads to periods of heavy trading.
The Dow rose 205.01, or 1.55 percent, to 13,450.65.
Broader indicators also showed strong gains. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 24.34, or 1.67 percent, to 1,484.46, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 51.13, or 1.94 percent, to 2,691.99.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 2.34 billion shares compared with 1.38 billion traded Thursday.
The Dow, which fell more than 1 percent Monday amid concerns about the health of the consumer, gained 0.83 percent for the week. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished the week up 1.12 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.13 percent.
Stocks rose for the second day after Research in Motion said late Thursday that its fiscal third-quarter profit more than doubled on strong demand for its BlackBerry smart phones. The results gave Wall Street hope that the technology sector has room to expand.
Adding to investors’ upbeat mood, the Wall Street Journal reported that Merrill Lynch & Co. is in advanced talks to secure a capital infusion of as much as $5 billion. The money is expected to come from Singapore state-owned investment agency Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., a fund that in late July said it would buy a 1.77 percent stake in Barclays PLC for $2 billion.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.50 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 2.26 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 1.39 percent, Germany’s DAX index advanced 1.70 percent and France’s CAC-40 rose 1.66 percent.