New York: The Dow ended at a record high on Friday, boosted by IBM, while a rebound in high-growth momentum names helped the broader market.
Consumer discretionary shares also lifted the market, with the stock of Gap Inc up 3.3 percent at USD 40.52 after the apparel retailer reported upbeat April sales and gave a profit forecast that surpassed Wall Street`s expectations. The S&P consumer discretionary index was up 0.6 percent.
Apple Inc was the biggest drag on both the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq 100 on news that it is close to paying a record USD 3.2 billion for Beats Electronics, an expensive foray into music streaming and headphone gear, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Some analysts questioned whether Beats, valued at USD 1 billion during its last funding round in September, was worth that price. Apple shares fell 0.4 percent to USD 585.54.
Momentum names advanced, with shares of Gilead Sciences Inc up 1.3 percent at USD 79.76. Netflix Inc shares rose 2.1 percent to USD 328.55 after the company increased the price of its most popular video streaming plan by USD 1 a month.
The gains came after a volatile week for those shares. The S&P 500 has alternated between gains and losses each day this week, and the Nasdaq has dropped for three straight sessions - its longest losing streak since early April - as Internet-related stocks came under pressure.
Trading was mostly lackluster, with about 5.7 billion shares changing hands on the U.S. exchanges, below the 6.2 billion month-to-date average, according to data from BATS Global Markets.
"The volatility and the decline in a lot of growth stuff is wearing people out," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. "There`s a lot of trader fatigue."
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 32.37 points or 0.2 percent, to 16,583.34, the S&P 500 gained 2.85 points or 0.15 percent, to 1,878.48 and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.374 points or 0.5 percent, to 4,071.869.
Shares of International Business Machines Corp rose 0.6 percent to USD 190.08 and helped lift the Dow to a record close.
For the week, the Dow rose 0.4 percent, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq fell 1.3 percent. This marked the Nasdaq`s biggest weekly percentage decline in a month.
The Russell 2000 gained 0.9 percent. Early in the session, it flirted with correction territory, defined as a 10 percent drop from a recent peak. At its session low, the Russell touched 1,091.50, nearly 10 percent below its all-time closing high of 1,208.65 reached on March 4.
Healthcare stocks rose, with shares of Merck up 0.7 percent at USD 55.21 a day after U.S. health regulators approved a blood-clot prevention drug developed by Merck for use by patients who have had a heart attack or who suffer from blockages in the arteries of the legs.
The S&P healthcare index was up 0.6 percent.
Among the day`s big decliners, Rocket Fuel Inc shares tumbled 21.5 percent to USD 21.83 after the technology provider for Web-based video advertising forecast current-quarter revenue far below expectations, prompting downgrades from Goldman Sachs and BMO Capital.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of about 17 to 13, while on the Nasdaq, nearly 17 stocks rose for every nine that fell.
