-NYSE up 68.7 (0.9%) to 7,543.12.
-DJIA up 143 (1.3%) to 11,152.
-S&P 500 up 15 (1.3%) to 1,202.
-Nasdaq up 38 (1.5%) to 2,498.74.
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Hang Seng down 1.41%
Nikkei up 1.21%
FTSE down 1.15%
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) CAL confirms stock deal with UAL Corp. (UAUA)
(+) UAUA gains on deal news.
(+) JNJ gets favorable coverage on Barron's cover.
(+) POZN to hold regulatory update for VIMOVO.
(+) PHM gets downgraded, but sector rebounds.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) BPOP buys assets of Westernbank Puerto Rico.
(-) APC gets upgraded, but BP disaster weighs.
(-) BP downgraded in wake of spill.
(-) FTBK closed by regulators.
(-) AGYS expects sales miss.
(-) STSA selling securities.
(-) MBRK files Ch. 11 bankruptcy.
MARKET DIRECTION
Stocks end up 1% or better, including a more than 140-point surge
for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, its best one-day performance
since mid-February.
A big merger in the airline sector, a surprise gain in consumer
spending and sales gains by automakers energized market bulls. With the
recovery inching forward, investors have been keeping a close watch on
new data to make sure the economy is on track.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq set the tone for the day, with help from
Apple (AAPL). The company said sales of its iPad since the tablet
computer's April launch passed the 1 million milestone faster than
expected.
Economic news was supportive. The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in
April at its fastest pace in almost six years, according to an industry
report, while the government reported an unexpected rise in
construction spending in March, marking the first advance since
October. Early in the day, another report showed consumer spending rose
in March for a sixth straight month
Indexes gained after Ford Motor Co. (F) scored its fifth straight
month of at least 20% gains in domestic sales, adding to evidence that
the auto industry and the nation are recovering. Ford said sales rose
24.7% to 167,542 vehicles from 134,401 last year. Sales. year-to-date
jumped 33%, led by a 38% jump in truck sales. cars and utility vehicles
rose 10% respectively. General Motors, Hyundai and Kia also reported
gains.
The merger of United and Continental airlines, a deal worth about
$3 billion, is fueling optimism that corporations are confident enough
about the economy to start spending money and doing deals.
In other deal news, Avis Budget Group (CAR) opened down but briefly
made a run into positive territory before yield gains and slumping
2.78%, as it played a cat-and-mouse game with Hertz (HTZ) over Dollar
Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (DTG). Avis said in a letter this morning
that it believes Hertz's $1.17 billion offer for Dollar Thrifty is too
low. It indicated it could offer a higher bid after a peek at Dollar
Thrifty's books. Hertz last week offered a cash-and-stock deal that
valued Dollar at $41 per share.
There was a mixed reaction to the latest developments for Greece.
The European Union and the International Monetary Fund agreed to
provide Greece with $145 billion over the next three years to ease its
debt problems, but that caused European markets and the euro to fall.
Germany is still a holdout on the deal.
In the wake of that news, crude oil for June delivery added $0.04,
or 0.05%, to end at $86.19 a barrel. Oil for July delivery rose $0.79,
or 0.9% to $89.15 a barrel. In other energy futures, heating oil rose
1.35%, or $0.03, to $2.34 a gallon while natural gas futures were up
2.09%, or $0.08, to $4 per million British thermal units.
Meanwhile, gold for June delivery rose $2.60, or 0.2%, to $1,183.30
an ounce. Silver for July delivery rose $0.20 to settle at $18.84 an
ounce. Platinum for July delivery declined $16.20 to $1,728.90 an
ounce. Palladium for June delivery lost $7.50 to $548.25 an ounce.
Copper for May delivery declined $0.06 cents, or 1.8%, to $3.2785 a
pound.