US stocks edged higher on Friday as data reassured investors about the economy's health, but with the major indexes at multiyear highs, some investors chose to take profits before the weekend. Wal-Mart Stores Inc shares jumped nearly 4 percent.
After the world's biggest retailer announced plans for a $15 billion stock buyback and more moderate expansion of supercenter stores in an effort to improve sales. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 17.14 points, or 0.13 percent, at 13,644.78.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Indexwas up 4.46 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,535.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 10.50 points, or 0.40 percent, at 2,615.08. Earlier in the session, the Dow hit a lifetime high of 13,692, and the Nasdaq rose to 2,626.40, its highest in more than six years.
If the S&P 500 holds its gains, it is on track to achieve its third straight record close. It also climbed to a session high of 1,540.56, close to its lifetime intraday high of 1,553.11 set in March 2000.
Wal-Mart jumped 3.9 percent to $49.46 on the New York Stock Exchange and was the biggest gainer in the blue chip Dow average. It ranked No. 2, behind Exxon Mobil Corp, among the top advancers in the broad S&P index. Exxon shares rose 1.01 percent to $84.01 as oil prices headed higher.
Wal-Mart's move to scale back supercenter openings boosted shares of its rivals, including grocers Kroger Co, which jumped 3.1 percent to $31.25, and Safeway Inc, which gained 4.4 percent to $36.01. On Nasdaq, shares of Dell Inc rose 2 percent to $27.45 after the computer maker's quarterly profit beat estimates.