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Market advances as helped by tech shares
2007-09-21
U.S. stocks jumped on Friday as higher-than-expected results from software maker Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) and a share buyback from Texas Instruments Inc (TXN.N) boosted technology shares. Gains in energy shares also helped the S&P 500 index after oil's surge above $84 a barrel late on Thursday. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N) was up 1 percent at $93.04. Oracle's shares rose 4.3 percent to $21.94 after its earnings and revenue topped analysts' estimates and Citigroup and UBS raised their price targets on the stock of the world's third-largest software maker. Shares of Texas Instruments advanced 3.4 percent to $37.01 after it said its board had approved an additional $5 billion stock buyback, and the company plans to raise its cash dividend by 25 percent. Stronger-than-expected quarterly net profit from Nike Inc (NKE.N) added to the positive mood on Wall Street. Shares of the world's largest athletic shoe and apparel maker rose 1.6 percent to $59.23. The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was up 108.20 points, or 0.79 percent, at 13,874.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was up 12.14 points, or 0.80 percent, at 1,530.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was up 24.35 points, or 0.92 percent, at 2,678.64. Equity derivative contracts expire, which could add to the session's volatility, in the quarterly event known as "quadruple witching." Sudden spikes and dips in the market and volume can occur as some investors exercise their derivative positions or roll them forward at the last minute. Most of these swings tend to occur at the open and the close. Volume was light, with some traders away for the Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur. November crude oil prices were down 9 cents at $81.09. The October U.S. crude oil contract expired on Thursday after it hit a record for the seventh straight session at $84.10.
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