Stocks Tick Upward

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Stocks ended higher Monday as investors were encouraged by falling oil prices, which helped calm fears of a slowdown in consumer spending.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 112.17 points, or 1.1 percent, at 10,252.29. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 11.64 points, or 1 percent, to 1,165.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 17.65 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,994.43.


Crude futures fell as low as $47.60 a barrel after OPEC pledged to keep pumping at full tilt. Crude for June delivery ended down 6 cents at $48.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.


Among local companies, shares of Hot Topic, Inc. jumped 8.4 percent to $20.99 after the City of Industry-based mall retailer’s stock was raised to “neutral” from “underweight” by Brian J. Tunick at J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and to “outperform” from “market perform” by Joseph Teklits at Wachovia Securities. The analysts said profit margins at the retailer may stabilize this year.


THQ Inc. rose 7 percent to $28.14 after the Calabasas Hills-based video game publisher announced that two new games will debut at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this week in L.A.: “The Outfit” and “Saint’s Row.”


On the down side, shares of Computer Sciences Corp. fell 0.7 percent to $43.33 after the El Segundo-based company challenged Sears Holdings Corp.’s termination of its 10-year, $1.6 billion technology services contract. On Friday, Sears said Computer Sciences failed to meet certain obligations in the contract, charges the El Segundo-based company disputed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. CSC says the claim of the Sears Roebuck and Co. unit is invalid and damages will be sought.

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