Stocks up despite weak reports

NEW YORK - Investors nudged the stock market to all-time highs Wednesday despite a handful of disappointing economic reports.

Google's stock topped $900 for the first time after the company announced several upgrades to its Android software for smartphones, and Macy's rose after beating Wall Street's profit estimates. Apple fell, holding back the Nasdaq composite index.

The market got off to a weak start, then turned higher in late morning trading. Investors shrugged off a slowdown in manufacturing last month. More signs of slack in the U.S. economy, the thinking goes, means the Federal Reserve will keep pumping money into financial markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 60.44 points to close at 15,275.69, an increase of 0.4 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 8.44 points to 1,658.78, up 0.5 percent. Both closed at all-time highs.

Google gained 3 percent as the online search company unveiled a music streaming service and upgraded features for Google Maps. Google rose $28.79 to $915.89, a gain of 3 percent. It's up 50 percent over the past year.

In other trading, the Nasdaq composite rose 9.01 points to 3,471.62, a gain of 0.3 percent.

Apple's stock took a sudden turn lower after reports said that a hedge fund run by the billionaire David Tepper slashed its holdings in the tech company. Apple lost $15.01 to $425.85, a 3 percent drop.

Strong corporate profits have supported the market's rally this year. Quarterly earnings reached a record in the first quarter, according to S&P Capital IQ, rising 5 percent from the year before. Telecommunication companies have led the way. The S&P is up 16 percent so far in 2013.

Among companies reporting earnings Wednesday, Macy's said its profit increased 20 percent. The department-store chain also raised its quarterly dividend by a nickel to 25 cents and announced plans to buy an additional $1.5 billion of its own stock. Macy's gained 2 percent, or $1.18, to $48.57

Among other big moves, Deere & Co. fell 4 percent. The company, which makes farm and construction equipment, reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations but also warned that cool spring temperatures and tepid demand for its products will slow down its sales this year. Deere's stock lost $4.13 to $89.64.

Computer Sciences dropped 10 percent, the biggest loss in the S&P 500. The information technology company turned in much weaker revenue than analysts had expected. Sales of the company's services to businesses and local governments slumped. Computer Sciences lost $4.78 to $44.71.