Stocks Rise on Deals, Lower Oil

Stocks rose for the fourth consecutive day today as deal-making buzz from Internet firms and a Tiffany’s-led retail rally offset a rise in weekly jobless claims and contraction in New York- and Philadelphia-region manufacturing, MarketWatch reports. The Dow rose 94.28, closing at 12,992.66, while the S&P 500 climbed 14.91 to settle at 1,423.75. The Nasdaq gained 37.03, to 2,533.73.

Tiffany’s boosted its dividend by 13% after posting Q1 earnings that beat forecasts. Crude oil prices rose nearly $2 early but fell back, settling at $124.02 per barrel, which spurred gains outside of the energy sector. Acquisitions by CBS (cNet), Comcast (Plaxo), and IAC (Lexico) raised hopes of more merger activity and drove online shares up.