NEW YORK (AP) — Investors resumed their buying spree on Wall Street, driving stocks higher after a bid for media company Dow Jones & Co. revived enthusiasm about takeover activity.The Dow Jones industrial average reached another record close, its 38th since last October, as big company stocks benefited from the turnaround.

Earlier in the session, stocks wavered on mixed economic data that showed strength in manufacturing but a wilting housing market and weak car sales. After April's big advance, investors were wary that the current economy wouldn't justify another move higher on Wall Street.

But the caution dissipated after Dow Jones, which publishes The Wall Street Journal, confirmed that it received an unsolicited bid from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation to buy the company for $5 billion, or $60 a share.

"The market kind of just took off from there," said Todd Leone, managing director of equity trading at Cowen & Co. News of the bid boosted media companies and publishers in particular, but also encouraged buying in other sectors, too, as it reaffirmed the ongoing trend of surging takeover activity in corporate America despite an economic slowdown. "It's money pouring into the market," Leone said.

The Dow industrials rose 73.23, or 0.56 percent, to 13,136.14, after dropping to 13,041.30 in earlier trading.

Broader stock indicators also pared early losses and turned higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.93, or 0.27 percent, to 1,486.30, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.44, or 0.26 percent, to 2,531.53.

Bond prices dropped after the manufacturing data made lower rates look less likely, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.64 percent, up from 4.62 percent late Monday.

After investors heard Dow Jones was a takeover target, the company's stock surged $19.87, or 54.7 percent, to $56.20. News Corp., which owns the Fox broadcast network among many other media properties, fell $1.01, or 4.2 percent, to $22.99.

Other media stocks rose as well. New York Times rose $1.18 to $24.58; Journal Register jumped 42 cents, or 7.3 percent, to $6.29; and Reuters Group's US shares climbed $2.19, or 3.8 percent, to $59.43.

Adding to the takeover buzz was a report that Microsoft is considering buying online advertising company 24/7 Real Media. 24/7 Real Media rose $2.02, or 20 percent, to $11.97, while Microsoft rose 25 cents to $30.19.

Though takeover fervour boosted stocks, investors will be watching upcoming economic data, especially Friday's jobs data, to decide whether to tread further into record terrain or restrain their buying. April saw the biggest percentage gain in the Dow since December 2003.

"I would expect we spend some time in May digesting that move," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.

A stronger-than-expected reading on the Institute for Supply Management's April manufacturing index failed to spark buying. Robust manufacturing activity is good for many US companies, but it reduces the chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to boost spending — especially amid rising costs, which the ISM's report described.

Other data evinced weakness in the housing and auto sectors. The National Association of Realtors said pending sales of existing homes fell 4.9 percent in March to their lowest level in four years, while Ford Motor, Toyota Motor and General Motors reported declines in US sales for April. DaimlerChrysler reported a slim rise.

Ford rose a penny to $8.05; DaimlerChrysler rose 40 cents to $80.91; Toyota's US shares rose 11 cents to $121.53; and GM rose seven cents to $31.30.

But the auto sales overall weren't as bad as many were expecting, and the tepid housing market is nothing new, so investors reacted little to the data.

"Unless you've been living underneath a rock, you know residential real estate is hitting a soft patch here," Hogan said.

Earnings reports were mixed Tuesday.

Procter & Gamble, one of the 30 Dow components and maker of Crest toothpaste and Pampers diapers, said profit in the most recent quarter rose 14 percent, but the figure failed to top expectations. Procter & Gamble fell $1.55, or more than two percent, to $62.96.

Archer Daniels Midland's fiscal third-quarter earnings fell short of Street forecasts, with the country's largest ethanol producer citing higher corn costs. ADM fell $2.10, or 5.4 percent, to $36.60.