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Stocks climb as oil, wholesale prices fall

By MICHAEL J. MARTINEZ
The Associated Press

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The Nasdaq gained 24.66 to 1,894.31.

Other stock indicators also moved higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 5.54 at 1,123.92, and the Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.97 to 10,313.07.

Microsoft, one of the 30 Dow stocks, added 21 cents to close at $27.49 a share, up 38 cents for the week, or 1.4 percent. Boeing, also a Dow stock, gained 89 cents yesterday to $54.15, up $1.05 for the week, or 2 percent, hitting a 52-week high.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.5 percent and the S&P was up 0.9 percent. The Nasdaq soared 2.7 percent, though the tech-focused index remains down 5.4 percent for the year.

Oil prices fell briskly through the afternoon, with a barrel of light crude settling at $42.81, down $1.80.

Investors welcomed the 0.1 percent drop in the Producer Price Index, the Labor Department's measure of wholesale prices, since the news was a strong sign that the economy has still managed to keep inflation at bay despite this summer's rising oil costs.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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