🚀 go-pugleaf

Stocks closed higher Friday on Wall Street, recovering from a
mid-morning dip following a fire at an oil storage facility in Staten
Island, N.Y.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 103.15 points to close at
8018.11. The Nasdaq composite index was up 17.79 to 1349.02, and the
S&P 500 gained 11.07 to 848.17. Advances led declines, 2160-888, on
the New York Stock Exchange in volume of 1,350,947,000 shares. On
Nasdaq, advances led declines, 1968-1201. Scant attention was given to
Friday's expiration of February equity and index options.

Markets posted their second straight winning week. For the week, the
Dow gained 109.31 points, or 1.4%, the S&P 500 added 13.28 points, of
1.6%, while Nasdaq was leader of the pack, adding 38.85 points or
3.0%.

(MktNews) Stocks had sold off Friday morning following a fire at an
Exxon Mobil (NYSE-XOM) oil storage facility in Staten Island, N.Y. The
FBI said it did not believe the fire to be terrorism related.

April crude oil futures climbed by 84 cents a barrel to $35.58, but
little effect was noted on the stock of Exxon Mobil, +$0.55 to $34.18.

(AP) "We had an early morning scare relating to the fire," said Steven
Goldman, chief market strategist at Weeden & Co. "Given the proximity
to Wall Street and looking out the windows and seeing the billowing
smoke, obvious concerns surfaced. But it doesn't look like it's
related to a terrorist act, so the markets are moving again," he said.

Bonds were lower, the 10-year note yield rising to 3.87% from 3.85%
late Thursday. The consumer price index rose 0.3% in January, matching
expectations, and a bit of a relief after Thursday's report that the
producer price index had soared 1.6% in January.

The Dow open, theoretical intraday high and low: 7915.52; 8055.86;
7843.81.

Gallaher Group plc (NYSE-GLH), +$2.84 to $40.70, rallied after
Business Week reported that British American Tobacco (AMEX-BTI),
+$0.34 to $18.84, was interested in acquiring the company. Gallaher
makes Benson & Hedges cigarettes as well as Silk Cut and several other
brands sold primarily in the United Kingdom.

InterCept (NASDAQ-ICPT), +$1.55 to $7.08, said it expects 2003
operating earnings of 80-90 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by First
Call expected 67 cents.

CIMA Labs (NASDAQ-CIMA), +$1.09 to $20.03, reported fourth-quarter net
income of 45 cents a share, 2 cents better than First Call's 43-cent
estimate.

(AP) BEA Systems (NASDAQ-BEAS), -$0.58 to $10.63, reported
fourth-quarter net income of 9 cents per share, pro forma, or 8 cents
GAAP. Analysts surveyed by First Call expected 8 cents. However, BEA
also gave a cautious outlook for the current quarter.

(AP) Biogen (NASDAQ-BGEN), +$0.10 to $35.06 was cut by J.P. Morgan to
"neutral" from "overweight," a day after European regulators said they
needed more data before approving the psoriasis drug Amevive.

(AP) Texas Instruments (NYSE-TXN), -$0.10 to $15.89, said its board
approved the buyback of up to 18 million shares.

QLT Inc. (NASDAQ-QLTI), -$0.43 to $8.74, said that enrollment of
additional patients in its ongoing Phase III studies of tariquidar in
non-small cell lung cancer patients is being suspended for
approximately three months pending the completion of the planned
interim safety and efficacy analysis by an Independent Data and Safety
Monitoring Committee.

Aphton (NASDAQ-APHT), +$0.21 to $3.13, said the FDA has granted Fast
Track designation for its G17DT (anti-gastrin) immunogen in
combination with cisplatin and 5-FU for use in stage IV gastric
cancer.

KeySpan (NYSE-KSE), -$0.32 to $32.11, said it expects to reduce its
ownership interest in Houston Exploration (NYSE-THX), -$0.88 to
$27.20. Houston Exploration will repurchase three million shares from
KeySpan, and will offer three million shares to the public through
J.P. Morgan. KeySpan also reaffirmed its 2003 earnings guidance of
$2.45 to $2.60 per share.

Tupperware (NYSE-TUP), -$1.90 to $12.89, said many Tupperware parties
were cancelled due to snowstorms in the first two months of the year.

Department 56 (NYSE-DFS), +$0.84 to $11.97, reported adjusted
fourth-quarter net income of 35 cents a share, topping First Call
estimates of 26 cents.

J.D. Edwards (NASDAQ-JDEC), -$1.14 to $11.19, reported net income of 5
cents a share in the first quarter, 2 cents above First Call
estimates.

Serena Software (NASDAQ-SRNA), +$1.25 to $15.07, reported
fourth-quarter net income of 19 cents a share, matching First Call
estimates.

EMS Technologies (NASDAQ-ELMG), -$0.93 to $13.40, earned 19 cents a
share in the fourth quarter versus a break-even year-ago quarter.

Ivax Corp. (AMEX-IVX), +$0.52 to $11.48, said it received final FDA
approval for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for tamoxifen
citrate tablets in 10 mg and 20 mg strengths.

(AP) Target (NYSE-TGT), +$1.71 to $28.48, was raised to "strong buy"
from "outperform" by U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray.

(AP) Verizon Communications (NYSE-VZ), +$0.88 to $35.64, was raised by
Credit Suisse First Boston to "outperform" from "neutral," citing low
valuation.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE-A), +$0.85 to $13.45, reported a
first-quarter loss of 23 cents a share from operations. Analysts
surveyed by First Call expected a loss of 26 cents a share. Agilent
said it expects modest improvement in second-quarter orders and
revenues, but also said that "visibility has never been worse." The
company will cut 4,000 more jobs.

Ligand Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ-LGND), +$0.50 to $4.45, said its
once-daily pain product, Avinza, improved overall quality of sleep in
patients with chronic, moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis pain compared
to placebo, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of
the American Academy of Pain Medicine in New Orleans.

(AP) Coca-Cola (NYSE-KO), +$0.59 to $40.64, said Thursday it raised
its quarterly dividend to 22 cents from 20 cents.

(AP) OM Group (NYSE-OMG), +$1.90 to $9.15, was upgraded by Banc of
America to "buy" from "neutral."

Universal Health Services (NYSE-UHS), +$0.45 to $39.05, said the SEC
has initiated an informal inquiry in connection with the chief
financial officer's departure.

(MktNews) Moody's Investors Service downgraded the long-term senior
unsecured debt rating of McDonald's (NYSE-MCD), +$0.20 to $13.58. --
edited by Stewart Winograd

-------------------------------------------------------------
@Close Daily Market Summary is a FREE service of DTN Market Access.
Copyright 2003. All rights reserved.
For subscribe visit: http://www.marketacessmail.com/subscribe.cfm