Stocks rise as investors bet on fix to avert fiscal cliff

NEW YORK – U.S. stocks rose for a second day Thursday, lifting the Dow industrials into positive terrain for the week, as investors bet on at least a short-term fix to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

The indexes came off their highs after House Speaker John Boehner declared that “no substantive progress” had been made in talks to reach a budget deal.

“The market has been doing a good job of jumping on almost every remark out of Washington and overshooting,” Elliot Spar, market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus, remarked in afternoon commentary. “The S&P traded within 3 points of its 200-day moving average at 1,423 and then along comes Boehner. He has gone from optimistic to disappointed in about 24 hours.”

The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 36.71 points, or 0.3 percent, to 13,021.82. Walt Disney Co. shares climbed after the entertainment company and Dow component raised its dividend. The S&P 500 index rose 6.02 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,415.95. The Nasdaq composite index gained 20.25 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,012.03. 

Verizon retirees file lawsuit over change in pension plan

NEW YORK – Verizon retirees have sued the phone company because it plans to transfer the responsibility of paying their pensions to an insurance company, where they will have weaker legal protection.

Verizon Communications Inc. said last month that it would transfer $7.5 billion of its pension obligations, covering 41,000 management retirees, to Prudential Insurance. The deal effectively turns the company’s defined-benefit pensions into annuities.

Members of the Association of BellTel Retirees sued in federal court in Dallas on Tuesday. They’re seeking a court order to halt the deal, which is due to close in December.