Stocks ended higher Wednesday after data from a manufacturing report eased inflation concerns and a Fed official suggested the interest-rate tightening cycle might soon end but a rise in oil prices limited Wall Street’s gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 82.39, or 0.8 percent, to close at 10,549.87. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 10.72, or 0.9 percent, at 1,202.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 19.64, or 1 percent, to 2,087.86.
U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in May for the 24th consecutive month, but the rate was slower than it was in April, the Institute for Supply Management said. The group’s manufacturing index stood at 51.4 in May, down from a reading of 52 the previous month.
Earlier in the day, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas president Richard Fisher suggested the next interest rate hike could be the last. Referring to the previous eight interest rate hikes, Fisher told The Wall Street Journal, “We’ve gone through eight innings here, 25 basis points an inning.”
But it was oil’s soaring price that kept a lid on much of the day’s gains. Oil futures climbed $2.63 to $54.60 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on concerns that strong demand for diesel will leave it and other distillate fuels in short supply later this year.
Among local companies, shares of Grill Concepts Inc. skyrocketed 63.2 percent to $3.90 after the L.A.-based operator of the Daily Grill restaurants reported first-quarter net income of $682,000 (11 cents per diluted share), up 83% from restated earnings of $117,000 (2 cents) a year ago. The company recently adjusted its method of accounting for operating leases to comply with guidelines issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
And Napster Inc. rose 3.5 percent to $4.39 after the L.A.-based digital music company’s stock was rated “market perform” in new coverage by analyst Kit Spring at Stifel Nicolaus.
On the down side, shares of United Online Inc. fell 14.8 percent to $11.02 after the Woodland Hills-based owner of the NetZero and Juno Internet services ‘ stock was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” by analyst Youssef H. Squali at Jefferies & Co.
And Jamdat Mobile Inc. fell 8.8 percent to $25.72 after investors reacted to news that rival video-game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. had signed an agreement with Qualcomm Inc. aimed at grabbing a bigger slice of the $1.3 billion market for games played on mobile phones.
