Stocks surge on earnings, deals

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks rose Wednesday morning, with the Dow industrials hitting a fresh all-time high as investors welcomed upbeat earnings and deals in the media sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 42.50 to 13,178.64, Charts) added 0.5 percent in the early going and briefly touched a record intraday high of 13,203.75, before retreating a bit. The Dow closed at an all-time high Tuesday for the fourth time in the last five sessions.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (up 9.35 to 2,540.88, Charts) gained 0.6 percent and the broader S&P 500 (up 5.60 to 1,491.90, Charts) index rose 0.5 percent.

Stocks rose Tuesday afternoon at the end of a choppy session as investors welcomed News Corp. (up $0.50 to $23.49, Charts, Fortune 500)'s $5 billion bid for Dow Jones (down $1.48 to $54.77, Charts). That momentum carried over to early Wednesday, even as the family that controls Dow Jones indicated it might not approve a deal.

Cablevision (up $2.37 to $35.04, Charts, Fortune 500) has agreed to be taken private for $10.6 billion by the family that already owns a controlling stake in the No. 5 cable operator. Cablevision shares jumped 8 percent.

In earnings news, CNNMoney.com parent Time Warner (up $0.51 to $21.10, Charts, Fortune 500) reported earnings that beat estimates on sales that met estimates. (Full story).

Transocean (up $1.83 to $88.10, Charts), which operates petroleum drilling rigs, reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates. Shares gained 2 percent.

Investors also eyed a weaker-than-expected reading on private sector employment, suggesting that Friday's April jobs report could show weaker payroll growth than currently forecast.

The ADP National Employment report showed the private sector added 64,000 jobs in April, short of forecasts.

Another report showed that March factory orders rose a larger-than-expected 3.1 percent.

Treasury prices were little changed, with the yield on the 10-year note at about 4.64 percent, near where it stood late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar gained against the euro and was little changed versus the yen.