WALL STREET

Dow goes further into record territory

NEW YORK — The Dow Jones industrial average is pushing further into record territory, a day after surging past its previous all-time high.

The Dow closed up 42 points at 14,296 Wednesday. The day before, it surged 126 points to 14,253, clearing the previous record by 90 points. That record was set in October 2007, a year before the peak of the financial crisis.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up one point at 1,541. The Nasdaq composite slipped two points to close at 3,222.

An increase in private company hiring helped bring more buyers to the market. Payroll processor ADP said companies added 198,000 employees to their workforces last month, more than expected.

Rising stocks outnumbered falling ones on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was average, 3.6 billion shares. ASSOCIATED PRESS

DEFENSE SPENDING

UDRI gets $45M contract

The University of Dayton Research Institute has won a $45 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract from the Department of Defense, the DoD said Tuesday.

The award is for the “quick reaction evaluation of materials and processes program,” according to a DoD announcement. The work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and is expected to be completed by May 31, 2019, it said.

A UDRI spokeswoman could not elaborate on the contract Wednesday. STAFF REPORT

EARNINGS

Costs cut Staples profit

NEW YORK (AP) — Costs related to Staples turnaround plan helped drive down the office supplier’s fourth-quarter net income by 72 percent. Its quarterly revenue and financial outlook for the year missed WallStreet’s expectations.

Its shares fell more than 6 percent in morning trading Wednesday.

Staples, which has 1,547 stores in the U.S. and 339 stores in Canada, is the largest office supply retailer, a sector hit hard by the recession and slow to recover.

Its earnings report comes two weeks after Office Depot Inc. and OfficeMax said they would combine to better compete against their larger rival as well as Internet retailers like Amazon.com and discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

EARNINGS

American Eagle profits surge

PITTSBURGH (AP) — American Eagle Outfitters Inc. said Wednesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter net income surged 85 percent as it reduced inventory and sales improved.

But its earnings adjusted for unusual items missed Wall Street’s view, and it provided a first-quarter earnings forecast well below analysts’ estimates.

For the period ended Feb. 2, American Eagle Outfitters earned $94.8 million, or 47 cents per share. That’s up from $51.3 million, or 26 cents per share, a year ago when it had a $9.1 million loss from discontinued operations

Revenue climbed 9 percent to $1.12 billion from $1.03 billion, meeting Wall Street’s expectations. ASSOCIATED PRESS