US stocks advanced on Friday on hopes that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, the fourth-largest US investment bank, may attract a major investor, sparking gains in the battered financial sector. A nearly $5 decline in the price of oil also buoyed sentiment, with shares of big manufacturers, airlines and consumer-oriented companies among the beneficiaries.
Shares of Lehman jumped more than 12 percent after the Korea Development Bank said the US brokerage was a possible acquisition target. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 164.47 points, or 1.44 percent, at 11,594.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 10.08 points, or 0.79 percent, at 1,287.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 27.61 points, or 1.16 percent, at 2,407.99.
The market also rose after investor Warren Buffett said in a television interview that he has no bets against the dollar and that stocks are more attractive now than a year ago. In another high-profile appearance, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recent decline in oil prices and a firmer dollar should help curb inflation, supporting the US central bank's low interest-rate strategy.
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