U.S. Stock Are Little Changed After Dow Record

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fluctuated, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a record yesterday, as investors dissected corporate earningsand data showing an unexpected gain in jobless claims and higher consumer spending.

T-Mobile US Inc. rallied 9.6% after adding 1.3 million new monthly subscribers last quarter. Sprint Corp. surged 5.2% after meeting with banks to make debt arrangements for a bid for T-Mobile. Yelp Inc. gained 9.7% after raising its forecast for 2014 revenue.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped less than 0.1% to 1,882.53 at 10:11 a.m. in New York and rose as much as 0.1%. The Dow average fell 13.17 points, or 0.1%, to 16,567.67. The 30-stock equity gauge rose 0.3% yesterday, topping the previous record it reached on Dec. 31. Government data on employment is due tomorrow.

“The market has had a nice little run here, and you’ve got a number coming tomorrow, so there may be some hesitation,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based RW Baird & Co., which oversees $110 billion, said in a phone interview. “As long as the Fed is going to remain friendly to the markets and rates are not going to go up, that’s going to be bullish for stocks.”

The S&P 500 posted a 0.6% gain in April for a third monthly advance, as better-than-estimated economic data and corporate results offset escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine.

The index closed yesterday within seven points of its all- time high from April 2. Its 8.2% recovery from a low of 1,741.89 on Feb. 3 has been led by a 14% rally in energy stocks and increases of 11% each in industries least tied to economic growth: utilities and home-product makers.

MEASURED STEPS

The Federal Reserve yesterday said it would continue to trim the pace of bond purchases as the economy gains momentum. The central bank cut its monthly asset purchases to $45 billion and said further reductions in “measured steps” are likely.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen is winding down record stimulus as the world’s largest economy shows signs of rebounding from a first-quarter standstill.

Data today showed applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to a nine-week high last week, while consumer spending surged in March by the most in almost five years as warmer weather brought shoppers back to auto- dealer lots and malls.

ECONOMIC DATA

The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to 54.9 in April from 53.7 in the prior month, the Tempe, Arizona- based group’s report showed today. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. The median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 54.3, with estimates ranging from 53 to 56.2. The ISM’s factory gauge averaged 53.9 for all of last year.

A Labor Department report tomorrow may show employers added 215,000 workers in April, the most since November, according to economists’ projections. A private payrolls report yesterday showed companies added more workers last month than at any time in the previous five.

Forty-seven companies in the S&P 500 including Mylan Inc. and MasterCard Inc. release their financial results today. Some 75% of the 350 companies that have reported earnings have beaten estimates for profit, while 52% topped revenue projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

T-MOBILE, SPRINT

T-Mobile jumped 9.6% to $32.10. The company added more subscribers in the first quarter than AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. combined, heightening the carrier’s allure as Sprint pursues a merger.

Sprint rallied 5.2% to $8.94. The company, led by CEO Dan Hesse, had a net loss of monthly subscribers in the first quarter.

DirecTV advanced 5.5% to $81.83. The Wall Street Journal reported that AT&T, the second-biggest U.S. mobile-phone carrier, made an approach to buy DirecTV. The status of the talks is unknown though DirecTV would be open to a deal, the report said, citing an unidentified person. The deal may be worth at least $40 billion, the Journal said.

Yelp gained 9.7% to $63.98. The service for online local-business reviews boosted its forecast for revenue this year to at least $363 million, exceeding its previous prediction of no more than $358 million.

ConocoPhillips added 0.5% to $74.71. The oil explorer reported first-quarter earnings excluding some items of $1.81 a share, exceeding the $1.55 estimated by analysts.

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