NEW YORK -- Stocks rose for the seventh time in eight sessions as expectations for new drugs sparked rallies in Geron Corp., Merck & Co. and other pharmaceuticals companies. Dow rises 59.99;
nears 9,000The Dow Jones industrial average rose 59.99, or 0.7 percent, to 8,975.46, and is within 25 points of topping 9,000 for the first time since July 31.
Advancers beat decliners by 4-to-1 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,709 up, 330 down and 490 unchanged. Volume on the NYSE was 679.95 million, down from yesterday's pace.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 7.32, or 0.65 percent, to 1,141.00. The Nasdaq composite index advanced 19.46, or 1.06 percent, to 1,856.56.
The NYSE composite index rose 2.92 to 565.10.
For the week, the Dow industrials gained 4.5 percent, the S&P 500 rose 3.9 percent and the Nasdaq added 4.8 percent.
Small stocks beat the market this week, sending the Russell 2000 index up 5.9 percent, and investors say the group will outperform in coming weeks.
Today, the Russell rose 3.53, or 0.9 percent, to 400.32.
The price of the Treasury's new 30-year bond was down 1 3/16 point, or $11.871/2 per $1,000 in face value, by late afternoon, while its yield climbed to 5.39 percent from 5.28 percent late yesterday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.5 percent. Germany's DAX index rose 0.5 percent, Britain's FT-SE 100 rose 0.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.2 percent.