Stocks Run to New Records

Several firms were altering ratings on stocks. Among upgrades, UBS raised its rating for auto-parts maker Lear (LEA Quote) to neutral from reduce. Elsewhere, Lehman Brothers downgraded Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ Quote) to equal-weight from overweight.

Lear tacked on 7 cents, or 0.2%, to finish the week at $35.74. Shares of Nasdaq eased 7 cents, or 0.2%, to $33.21.

Automakers posted vehicle sales results for May. Ford (F Quote) said sales fell 6.8% last month, while DaimlerChrysler (DCX Quote) posted a 3.9% rise. General Motors (GM Quote) reported a 9.6% gain in sales.

Crude oil jumped $1.07 to $65.08 a barrel. Precious metals also moved ahead. Gold advanced $10.20 to $676.90 an ounce.

Overseas, stocks were mostly stronger. Tokyo's Nikkei was up 0.5%, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng eased 0.2%. The FTSE in London added 0.8%, and the Frankfurt DAX climbed 1.3%.