US stocks rose on Thursday as news about acquisitions offset the impact of high oil prices, debt downgrades of automakers and cuts in stock ratings.
Johnson & Johnson lifted the blue chip Dow average after the company said it won conditional approval from European competition authorities of its planned acquisition of heart device maker Guidant Corp Johnson & Johnson said it expects a decision in October from the US Federal Trade Commission on the deal. J&J's stock rose 0.5 percent to $62.53 and buoyed other health-care shares.
Automotive supplier Johnson Controls Inc said it will pay $2.4 billion in cash for York International Corp, a maker of heating and cooling systems. York shares skyrocketed 36 percent to $56.79, while Johnson Controls rose 4.9 percent to $59.53, both on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 15.76 points, or 0.15 percent, at 10,450.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.78 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,212.37. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index gained 5.46 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 2,134.37.
Crude oil for October delivery settled at $67.49 a barrel, up 17 cents, after earlier climbing intraday to a record $68 per barrel. Oil prices rose late in the day on news that Gulf of Mexico operators were preparing to move nonessential rig personnel due to Hurricane Katrina.
Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, gained 0.5 percent, or 30 cents, to $59.18, helping both the Dow and the S&P 500.
Among health-care stocks that climbed in sync with Johnson & Johnson were AmerisourceBergen, the No 3 US drug distributor, up 3.4 percent, or $2.40, at $72.74, and Forest Laboratories Inc, up 4.7 percent, or $2.01, at $44.44, both in NYSE trading.
In other acquisition news, shares of Six Flags Inc shot up 11 percent, or 72 cents, to $7.26 on the NYSE after the theme park operator put itself up for sale on Thursday.
The Nasdaq's top percentage gainers included Coldwater Creek, a women's clothing retailer, up 18.2 percent, or $4.77, at $30.92, a day after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue.
In contrast, the stock of OmniVision Technologies Inc jumped 16 percent to $15.55 on Inet after the specialty semiconductor maker said its second-quarter earnings and revenue will top Wall Street forecasts. OmniVision closed at $13.38 on Nasdaq.
A debt downgrade helped push Dow component General Motors Corp lower. Moody's Investors Service cut its ratings on the debt of General Motors Corp and its finance arm, General Motors Acceptance Corp, late on Wednesday. GM shares fell 0.5 percent, or 18 cents, to $34.09.
For GM, the impact of the Moody's downgrade was partly offset by an announcement that the world's largest automaker is extending its popular program of employee discounts for everyone on vehicle sales.
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