Stocks rise after survey points to stronger manufacturing in US; Safeway jumps on deal talks

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Stocks are closing higher after news that manufacturing in the U.S. is expanding at a rapid clip.

A private survey showed that manufacturing grew at the fastest pace in almost four years in February.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 92 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 16,133 Thursday. The gain erased the Dow’s loss from the day before and left it flat for the week.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 11 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 1,839. The Nasdaq composite rose 29 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 4,267.

Safeway rose 2 per cent after the grocer said it was in talks to put itself up for sale.

Facebook rose 2 per cent after announcing a deal to buy a popular messaging service called WhatsApp for $19 billion.

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