Dow closes at 6-year high, Google soars after bell Thu Apr 20, 2006 6:02pm ET17 Top News Dow closes at 6-year high, Google soars after bell Thu Apr 20, 2006 6:02pm ET17
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average ended at the highest level in six years on Thursday as encouraging quarterly reports from companies such as General Motors Corp. increased optimism about earnings.
Tech shares slid and the Nasdaq fell after Web auctioneer eBay Inc. gave a disappointing revenue forecast.
The Dow is not far from its lifetime high of 11,750.28, which it hit on January 14, 2000. The Nasdaq and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index hit five-year intraday highs.
After the bell, Google shares jumped 7 percent to $443.96 in electronic trading from a Nasdaq close at $415. Google Inc., the leading Web search company, reported its quarterly net income and revenue surged, driven by gains in market share against rivals such as Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.
"Another fantastic quarter here. When we've seen the market share gains that Google has had, it doesn't necessarily come as a surprise," said Rick Summer, a Morningstar analyst in Chicago. But he added that "eventually, you can only grow as fast as an advertising market can grow."
During the regular session, General Motors gave the biggest boost to the Dow after it reported a narrower-than-expected loss and said its turnaround was working. Shares of the world's largest automaker jumped 10.1 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 64.12 points, or 0.57 percent, to end at 11,342.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.53 points, or 0.12 percent, to finish at 1,311.46. But the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 8.33 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 2,362.55.
DOW Price at posting:
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