Apple, Alcoa Boost Wall Street Indexes

By Bloomberg, AP and Staff Reports

Wall Street managed a modest gain Wednesday following upbeat news from Alcoa Inc. and Apple Computers Inc.

“There are good underlying economic fundamentals. The buyers are starting to get a little more courageous in coming off the sidelines,” said Al Goldman, chief market strategist with A.G. Edwards & Sons.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 25.56, or 0.21 percent, to 12,442.16.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.74, or 0.19 percent, to 1,414.85, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 15.50, or 0.63 percent, to 2,459.33.

Apple on Tuesday unveiled its long-awaited plan for a mobile phone, and aluminum producer Alcoa issued a solid profit report.

Apple, which also announced plans to change its name to Apple Inc. as it moves far beyond computers, rose $4.43, or 4.8 percent, to close Wednesday at $97.

Alcoa, one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials, advanced $1.71, or 6 percent, to $30.23, after reporting late Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profit jumped 60 percent.

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