After a steady ascent all day, the stock market closed higher and near session highs Friday, as news of a possible buyout of Qualcomm (QCOM) helped the Nasdaq lead the market.
X The Nasdaq led with a 0.7% increase, thanks largely to Apple's (AAPL) 2.5% jump following the company's earnings report.
Also, Qualcomm — still one of the largest Nasdaq components — soared 13% in tremendous volume after Bloomberg reported that Broadcom (AVGO) is considering an acquisition of the company. The deal would create a giant in the chip industry.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% and the small-cap Russell 2000 eased 0.1%. The Dow utilities average climbed 0.3%, extending a rebound from a Sept. 28 low. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.1%. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all closed at record highs.
Dow component Home Depot (HD) bounced from Thursday's slide by rising 1% after finding support at the 50-day moving average. Housing-related stocks tumbled Thursday on news that a tax reform bill would limit deductions for mortgages.
Volume fell from Thursday's levels, according to unconfirmed numbers. But breadth was weaker than the indexes would suggest. Decliners led advancers by 15-to-14 on the NYSE and losers edged winners on the Nasdaq.
The networking industry group led after Arista Networks (ANET) surged 11% on results that beat expectations. Health care was another productive sector, with biotechs, generic drugs and medical products among the top 10 industry groups Friday.
Oil stocks also were high on the performance table. U.S. oil prices rose $1.14 to $55.68 a barrel and are trading at the highest since July 2015.
A number of stocks broke out past buy points after reporting quarterly results.
Hortonworks (HDP) surged past the 17.80 buy point of a flat base in heavy volume. The data management software company reversed higher after erasing early losses.
Carbonite (CARB) topped the 24.70 buy point of a saucerlike pattern, but shares of the data-storage company closed below the entry. TriNet Group (TNET) gapped up and broke out of a 41.68 buy point, but also closed below the entry.
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