US stocks soar

The Dow Jones Industrial averages soared to a five-year high today.

US stocks rose following upbeat news from big companies: a patent settlement by Bristol-Myers Squibb, strong earnings from Morgan Stanley and a cost-cutting deal between General Motors, Delphi and the United Auto Workers union.

With scant economic data available, Wall Street was driven by news from large-cap stocks. Bristol-Myers jumped 12% after the drug maker and its partner, Sanofi-Aventis SA, announced an agreement to settle a patent challenge.

Investors were also cheered after Morgan Stanley’s quarterly profit rose 17%.

Transportation stocks rose after General Motors and parts maker Delphi announced a deal with the UAW that would help the struggling companies cut costs by offering buyouts to 113,000 US hourly workers.

Tech stock were flat after Microsoft said it would delay the launch of the consumer version of its new operating system, Vista, until January 2007.

“The news from Microsoft is a significant negative, but clearly the market isn’t buckling with that announcement,” said Bob Sitko, who manages more than US$500m (€414m) as a lead portfolio manager with USAA Private Investment Management. Crude oil reserves were also lower than expected, but stocks remained resilient.

“I’m quite pleased the markets have hung in as well as they have,” Sitko said.

The Dow rose 81.96, or 0.73%, to 11,317.43, its highest level since May 21, 2001.

Broader stock indicators were also higher. The S&P 500 index rose 7.81, or 0.6%, to 1,305.04, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 9.12, or 0.4%, to 2,303.35.

Buying was strong: Advancers led decliners by more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Bonds rose, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.70% from 4.72% on Tuesday. The US dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices fell.

Crude oil futures fell. A barrel of light crude settled at US$61.77 (€51.16), down 57 cents, in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh, said she was heartened by FedEx’s 35% jump in third-quarter profits. “The flow of goods is still happening around the world,” she said. “That can only point to good things for the global economy.”

FedEx rose 1.22 to 114.44.

Net income at Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley for its fiscal first quarter beat analysts’ expectations. The firm reported record revenues as both investment banking and fixed-income trading grew. The stock rose 1.53 to 61.94.

Microsoft fell 59 cents to 27.15 after the Vista announcement. While the company said the consumer version would be delayed, “I think the whole thing is going to be pushed back,” Caughey said, echoing the sentiments of investors.

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb and partner Sanofi-Aventis SA jumped after the two drug makers agreed to settle a patent challenge to the blood thinning drug Plavix. Bristol-Myers rose 2.41 to 25.24; Sanofi-Aventis rose 4.20, or 9.6%, to 47.88.

The New York Times Co fell 49 cents to 25.30 after the media company said it expected lower profits in the first quarter and reported uneven advertising results for February amid weakness at its New England media group, which includes The Boston Globe.

General Motors rose 1 cent to 22.01 after the company and parts supplier Delphi announced deals with the UAW that would help the struggling companies cut labour costs by offering early-retirement buyouts. Delphi, the largest US vehicle parts supplier, is reorganising under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 8.75, or 1.19%, to 744.85.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 1.49bn shares, down from 1.58bn shares on Tuesday.