Stocks Advance on Bear Stearns Report
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Wall Street extended its big advance today as investors grew upbeat over a report that Bear Stearns Cos. could fetch more money than the amount set in a buyout deal a week ago. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped about 100 points.
Stocks rose on a New York Times report that JPMorgan Chase & Co. is in talks to boost its offer to $10 a share from $2. The discussions are aimed at soothing Bear Stearns shareholders upset over JPMorgan’s earlier offer, which was made at the behest of the Federal Reserve when Bear Stearns was near collapse.
While the Fed would need to sign off on any changes to the deal, any sign that Bear Stearns could fetch more than originally thought could help boost Wall Street’s mood.
In the first minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 100.37, or 0.81%, to 12,461.69 after rising more than 260 points on Thursday, the last day of trading before the Easter holiday weekend.
Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 11.20, or 0.84%, to 1,340.71, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 25.36, or 1.12%, to 2,283.47.
