U.S. stocks rose, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher for the ninth time in 10 days, after takeover speculation lifted health-care companies and an analyst recommended buying Microsoft Corp.

Health-care shares advanced the most in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index after MedImmune Inc., maker of the FluMist spray vaccine, and Manor Care Inc., an operator of more than 300 nursing homes, hired advisers to explore sales. Microsoft, the biggest software maker, climbed after Soleil Securities said customer upgrades will boost profit.

Energy shares also rose as crude oil climbed, helping investors overcome higher-than-forecast import prices that revived concern the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates. Minutes from the Fed's last meeting showed policy makers are concerned U.S. growth may wane without curbing inflation.

``Things like pharmaceuticals are a play on a slowing economy,'' said Robert Schaeffer, a portfolio manager at Becker Capital Management, which manages about $2.5 billion in Portland, Oregon. ``Traditionally, their earnings have been relatively stable. They have the wind at their back with the baby boomers moving out of middle age.''

The Dow average climbed 54.12, or 0.4 percent, to 12,538.74 as of 2:48 p.m. in New York. The S&P 500 rose 7.18, or 0.5 percent, to 1446.05, while the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 16.39, or 0.7 percent, to 2475.70.

Rate Increase

Stocks fell yesterday for the first time this month after the Fed minutes showed policy makers agreed tighter credit may ``prove necessary.'' A statement released after the March 21 meeting omitted a reference to higher rates, sending stocks to their biggest rally in eight months.

MedImmune added $4.81, or 13 percent, to $42.65 for the steepest gain in the S&P 500. The company will explore a possible sale because of interest from ``major'' pharmaceutical companies and pressure from shareholders.

Manor Care, which yesterday said it hired JPMorgan to explore a possible sale, advanced 98 cents to $62.66. The stock was upgraded to ``peer perform'' from ``underperform'' by Bear Stearns & Co., citing its takeover potential.

Shares of health-care companies gained 0.9 percent, led by drug producers.

The HIV drugs market will grow to $10.6 billion by 2015 because of an increase in the number of people diagnosed with the disease and the introduction of new treatments, according to new research from Datamonitor.

New Medicines

Medicines, including Pfizer Inc.'s maraviroc and Merck & Co.'s Isentress, are expected to be introduced in the next two years.

Pfizer added 34 cents to $26.38. Merck, one of the companies mentioned as a potential buyer for MedImmune, climbed 70 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $46.35 for the best gain in the Dow average.

Microsoft added 31 cents to $28.42. The shares may rise to $33 apiece amid a ``strong upgrade cycle'' for its Vista operating system, Soleil Securities wrote in initiating the stock with a ``buy'' rating.

A Labor Department report showed import prices in March increased 1.7 percent, more than twice as much as forecast. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a 0.8 percent gain. Excluding petroleum, the cost of goods shipped to the U.S. rose 0.3 percent.

Oil Rises

Oil rose the most in two weeks after the International Energy Agency said OPEC reduced supplies to a two-year low to cut world stockpiles.

Oil for May delivery rose 2.5 percent to $63.54 a barrel in New York. The price has jumped 26 percent since its 2007 low.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest oil company, added 31 cents to $77.08. ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil company, gained 77 cents to $70.

Shares of steelmakers surged. Ipsco Inc., a maker of steel pipe for energy explorers, rallied as much as 14 percent after saying it's in talks that may lead to a takeover of the company.

U.S. Steel Corp., the biggest U.S.-based steelmaker, gained $1.44 to $104.20, the highest since at least May 1991.

NovaStar Financial Inc. advanced 26 cents to $5.29. The subprime mortgage lender announced it's looking for a buyer. NovaStar hired a unit of Deutsche Bank AG to act as its adviser and said Wachovia Corp. arranged $100 million in new credit.

Railroads

An S&P measure of rail stocks climbed 4.3 percent to a record, bringing its rally this month to 9.4 percent. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., the second-largest U.S. railroad, advanced $3.67 to $91.32. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. last week said it is Burlington Northern's biggest shareholder with a 10.9 percent stake.

``With demand for commodities going up, there's more demand for railroads and the Buffett purchase helped trigger that thought,'' said Jerome Dodson, president of Parnassus Investments, which oversees $1.4 billion in San Francisco.

Kraft Foods Inc. added 67 cents to $32.69. UBS AG raised the world's second-biggest foodmaker to ``buy'' from ``neutral'' on expectations the company may benefit from a purchase of Cadbury Schweppes Plc's confectionary unit. Kraft could buy the unit for $20.8 billion, analysts including David Palmer wrote in a report.

U.S. retailers, led by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., reported March sales that exceeded estimates as an early Easter and warmer weather spurred purchases of holiday gifts and spring clothing.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, reported a 4 percent gain in the U.S., beating its forecast of 1 percent to 2 percent. Gap Inc.'s same-store sales rose for the first time in more than a year. Kohl's Corp.'s results almost doubled analyst estimates.

Wal-Mart's gain was limited after saying April sales may fall. The stock added 12 cents to $47.39. Gap, the largest U.S. clothing retailer, climbed 14 cents to $18.76. Kohl's jumped $1.30 to $78.50.

Research In Motion

Research In Motion Ltd. dropped $11.55, or 7.9 percent, to $134.47 for its steepest loss since September 2005. The maker of the BlackBerry e-mail phone reported sales that trailed analysts' estimates and disclosed a formal probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Brunswick Corp., the maker of Bayliner boats and Mercury marine engines, declined $1.01, or 3.2 percent, to $30.96 for the worst performance in the S&P 500. MarineMax Inc., Brunswick's biggest customer, cut its full-year earnings forecast for the second time in less than three months because of falling prices and higher costs to generate sales.

Shares of MarineMax fell $3.27 to $19.68.

About 11 stocks advanced for every six that declined on the New York Stock Exchange. Some 1.1 billion shares changed hands on the Big Board, 18 percent more than the same time a week ago. (bloomberg)