Stocks Rise on Deals, Lower Oil

Stocks rose for the fourth consecutive day today as deal-making buzz from Internet firms and a Tiffany’s-led retail rally offset a rise in weekly jobless claims and contraction in New York- and Philadelphia-region manufacturing, MarketWatch reports. The Dow rose 94.28, closing at 12,992.66, while the S&P 500 climbed 14.91 to settle at 1,423.75. The Nasdaq gained 37.03, to 2,533.73.

Tiffany’s boosted its dividend by 13% after posting Q1 earnings that beat forecasts. Crude oil prices rose nearly $2 early but fell back, settling at $124.02 per barrel, which spurred gains outside of the energy sector. Acquisitions by CBS (cNet), Comcast (Plaxo), and IAC (Lexico) raised hopes of more merger activity and drove online shares up. (More Dow Jones stories.)