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NEW YORK - US stocks rallied today, lifted by another round of solid profits and a flurry of buyout offers, including one to take Cablevision Systems Corp. private.
Large-cap manufacturing stocks, like appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. and lawn mower maker Toro Co., posted big gains after government data showed bigger-than-expected increases in factory and durable goods orders.
Acquisitions deals were announced during the session, included a plan for Eola Capital to buy St. Joe Co.'s office buildings portfolio and for Dutch retailer Ahold to sell US Foodservice to private equity consortium.
"Relative to interest rates, stocks are cheap. Money is cheap and this basically means there are individuals who can finance buying another company," said Ed Peters, chief investment officer at Boston-based PanAgora Asset Management Inc. "That's causing a lot of buying, people see their buddies making a lot of money and they start speculating."
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 98 points, or 0.75 per cent, at 13,234.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 11.39 points, or 0.77 per cent, at 1,497.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 29.39 points, or 1.16 per cent, at 2,560.92.
The Dow earlier hit an intraday all-time high at 13,256.33, extending its run into record territory.
Whirlpool shares were up 5.3 per cent to $113.80 and Toro shares added 1.9 per cent to $51.60.
Cablevision Systems' stock rose 8.4 per cent to US$35.40 after Cablevision directors agreed to a buyout offer from the Dolan family of US$36.26 a share for Cablevision shares they do not already own.
News on Cablevision, one of the fastest-growing US cable companies, follows another major media bid approach -- Tuesday's surprise US$5 billion bid for Dow Jones & Co. Inc. by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
US-listed shares of Ahold were up 6.1 per cent to US$13.51, while St. Joe shares gained 1.6 per cent to US$57.95.
Stronger-than-expected profits have underpinned the rally in stocks. Media company Time Warner Inc. and MasterCard Inc. were the latest companies to report profits that beat Wall Street expectations.
Time Warner rose 2.8 per cent to US$21.17. Shares of MasterCard also jumped 10 per cent to US$126.33 after the credit card company's profit beat estimates.
- REUTERS