Around the World's Markets: New York

STOCKS MOVED higher with the Nasdaq zooming to its seventh straight record as investors concluded what may be bad for Microsoft may be good for the software giant's competitors.

The Dow Jones index closed up 14.37 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 10,718.85 after carrying a loss for most of the session. The Nasdaq finished up 41.68 points, or 1.34 per cent, at 3,143.97. The Standard and Poor's 500 index was up 6.78 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 1,377.01.