Stocks Edge Higher In Early Trade; Microsoft Jumps

Stocks are edging higher in early trading on Wall Street a day after pricing problems shut down the Nasdaq exchange for three hours.

The Nasdaq composite was up 16 points, or 0.5 percent, at 3,655 shortly after the opening of trading Friday.

Other indexes also rose, but not as much. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 24 points, or 0.2 percent, at 14,988. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four points, or 0.3 percent, at 1,661.

Microsoft jumped 7 percent to $34.55 after the company said Steve Ballmer would retire as CEO within the next 12 months. The company didn't name a successor.

Interest rates continued to edge higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.90 percent from 2.89 percent.

[Associated Press]