U.S. Stocks Rally, Sending S&P 500 and Dow Average to Records; Alcoa Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rallied, sending the
Standard & Poor's 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average to
records, after retailers reported better-than-expected sales and
investors speculated Alcoa Inc. may be bought.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, posted
its biggest gain in a month after same-store sales tripled
analysts' predictions. Aluminum producer Alcoa led the Dow's
advance as Rio Tinto Group's plan to buy Alcan Inc. spurred
expectations of more takeovers in the metals industry.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News