Stocks End Higher as Inflation Fears Ease

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Stocks rallied on Tuesday, as investors cheered a lower-than-expected increase in basic wholesale prices and a solid start to the first-quarter earnings season.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 56.16 points, or 0.6 percent, to finish the day at 10,127.41. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 6.80 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,152.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 19.44 points, or 1 percent, to 1,932.36.


Wall Street was bolstered by positive earnings from companies such as Coca-Cola Co. and Texas Instruments Inc. And more relief came when the core Producer Price Index, a measure of wholesale prices excluding food and energy, rose by only half of what economists expected. That eased worries about more aggressive interest-rate increases from the Federal Reserve in the future.


Among local companies, Southwest Water Co. gained 6 percent to close at $10.49 after the L.A.-based company acquired the business of Novus Utility Services Inc., a water contract services company based in Birmingham, Ala., to increase its market presence in the southeastern U.S. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.


Shares of the WPT Enterprises Inc. rose 2.9 percent after the L.A.-based creator of the World Poker Tour announced that newly-named Chief Executive Steven Lipscomb had ended efforts to sell 450,000 shares by March 2006. The announcement came as WPT sought to quell a recent share sell-off. The sell-off began on April 6, when WPT named Lipscomb, the firm’s president, to the added role of chief executive, replacing co-founder Lyle Berman, who was given the new title of executive chairman.


And Univision Communications Inc. edged up 1.5 percent to $26.40 after the L.A.-based Spanish-language media giant’s stock was rated “buy” in new coverage by analyst Sean P. Butson at Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. The price target is $33 per share.


On the down side, shares of National Lampoon Inc. sank 5.1 percent to close at $4.25 after the L.A.-based entertainment company said President Douglas S. Bennett would be shouldered with the additional responsibilities of the chief financial officer. The firm also announced the appointment of Lorraine Evanoff as vice president, finance and chief accounting officer. The new appointments are timed to coincide with the planned departure of current chief financial officer Jim Toll, who the company said will be pursuing outside opportunities.

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