NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose yesterday after Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. and BankBoston Corp. agreed to be taken over, and an optimistic earnings forecast from UAL Corp. propelled the Standard & Poor's 500 index to a record.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed within 42 points of 10,000.
"The mergers are getting bigger," said Gil Knight, a money manager who helps oversee $11 billion in assets at Allied Investment Advisors in Baltimore. "It's a sign of a buoyant market."
The Dow industrials rose 82.42, to 9,958.77, its first close above 9,900. The index touched 9,970.15 in late trading, the closest yet to the 10,000 mark. J. P. Morgan & Co. and General Electric Co. contributed most to the Dow's gains.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12.67, to 1,307.26, its fourth record in five sessions. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 49.91, or 2.1 percent, to 2,431.44.
Elsewhere on the broad market, the Russell 2,000 index, a benchmark of small-cap stocks, added 2.46, to 400.84; the Wilshire 5,000 index jumped 105.03, to 11,865.41; the American Stock Exchange composite index slipped 0.30, to 720.91; and the S&P; 400 midcap index advanced 1.82, to 365.92.
The Sun-Bloomberg Maryland index of the top 100 Maryland stocks gained 0.43, to 183.48.
Decliners and advancers were almost evenly matched on the New York Stock Exchange, where about 727.3 million shares traded.
Pioneer Hi-Bred, the world's largest seed-corn company, rose $4.0625, to $38.375, and was the biggest gainer in the S&P; 500. DuPont Co. agreed to buy the 80 percent of Pioneer Hi-Bred that it doesn't already own for about $40 a share in cash and stock, or about $7.7 billion.
DuPont fell $1.50, to $56.25, shaving 6 points off the Dow average.
BankBoston, the nation's oldest bank, rose 12.5 cents, to $47.0625, on news that Fleet Financial Group Inc., the No. 9 U.S. bank, agreed to buy it for $16 billion in stock, creating the eighth-biggest U.S. bank. Fleet fell $2.5625, to $42.1875.
J. P. Morgan, which some investors see as a possible takeover target, rose $3.375, to $125.375, adding 15 points to the Dow average.
Airlines were the best-performing group in the S&P; 500 after UAL, the world's largest airline company, said it expects first-quarter earnings per share to exceed expectations by 24 percent because of strong domestic business.
UAL, parent of United Airlines, jumped $6.5625, to $73.625; US Airways Group Inc. gained $2.875, to $55.375; American Airlines parent AMR Corp. rose $3.75, to $61.75; Alaska Airgroup Inc. added $3.375, to $53.125; and Delta Air Lines Inc. gained $4.75, to $68.75.
General Electric rose $2.75, to $110.125. Analyst Jeanne Terrile at Merrill Lynch & Co. said she expects the industrial part of GE, the second-largest U.S. company by market value, to report revenue growth of 8 percent to 9 percent both this year and next, with faster growth at GE Capital.
Chancellor Media Corp. rose $1.1875, to $45.5625, after replacing its chief executive officer and canceling a $1.67 billion takeover of LIN Television Corp.
Sonat Inc. fell 43.75 cents, to $29.625, after El Paso Energy Corp., a natural gas pipeline operator, said it will buy the company for about $5.5 billion in stock and debt in a transaction valued at $32.06 a share. The cost savings of the combination won't be enough to make a difference, said Michael Barbis, an analyst at Warburg Dillon Read. El Paso fell $3.6875, to $32.0625.
Charles Schwab Corp. rose $3.9375, to $87.9375. The largest U.S. online and discount brokerage said its first quarter should be the "best quarter ever in terms of revenue" and said earnings will exceed analysts' estimates.
Netscape Communications Corp. rose $6.125, to $91, after America Online Inc., the No. 1 Internet service provider, won antitrust clearance Friday to complete its $8.98 billion acquisition of the top maker of Internet software, creating a formidable competitor to Microsoft Corp. in the Internet market. AOL rose $5.1875, to $101.3125.
Qwest Communications International Inc. rose $4.9375, to $74.5625, after analyst Peter Kennedy at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. raised the No. 4 U.S. long-distance company to "strong buy" from "outperform."
Qwest is one of the best-positioned and best-managed companies in the industry, Kennedy said, and it is expanding to 19 cities from 10.
Efax.com Inc. rose $8.875, or 70 percent, to $21.625, after the marketer of technology to convert faxes to electronic mail said Xoom.com Inc. will provide eFax's fax-to-mail services to its 6.5 million members free. Xoom.com rose $2.625, to $69.625.
Sanmina Corp. rose $6.0625, to $65.875, after analyst Lissa Bogaty at Salomon Smith Barney Inc. rated the maker of custom electronics "buy" in new coverage and said she expects the stock to reach $75 in 12 months. Sanmina is one of the top 10 electronic manufacturing service companies.
United Technologies Corp. rose $1.875, to $129.375. The Blackstone Group is near an agreement to buy United's auto parts division for about $2.25 billion.
Pub Date: 3/16/99