Market Minute: Investors Eye May Gains; Rival Retailers to Merge?

Sell in May and go away? No way! And two leading retailers consider a merger, briefly. Those and more are what's in the news on Wall Street this Friday.

The Dow industrials (^DJI) added 21 points yesterday, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 6 and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) rose 23 points.

During the past few years, May has been a disaster for investors. Last May, the Dow tumbled 820 points. In 2011 it lost 240. And in 2010, it slid 872 points. But heading into today's session, the Dow is up 484 points this month. Unless all of that is wiped out today, the Dow will post its seventh straight monthly gain.

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus reportedly considered but rejected an offer to merge with rival Saks (SKS). Both companies are said to be up for sale. The Wall Street Journal says the buyout firm KKR & Co. (KKR) was interested in investing in the combined company.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) served up some tasty earnings. Its net jumped 33 percent and the company raised its forecast for the full year.

The "Hunger Games" and "Twilight" movies continue to deliver big returns for Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF). It swing to a bigger than expected profit, and revenue rose 22 percent.

And you don't have to guess what will happen to the apparel maker Guess (GES) today. It's set to jump on strong earnings and an upbeat forecast.

But the internet security firm Palo Alto Networks (PANW) could be feeling a bit insecure today. Its shares are set to tumble after the company posted a loss, and revenue came in short of expectations.

A special committee of Dell's (DELL) board is recommending that shareholders approve CEO Michael Dell's plan to take the company private at a meeting in July. A group led by Carl Icahn has a rival bid on the table.

And the insurance giant American International Group (AIG) has dropped a case against the Federal Reserve over whether the company had given away its right to sue over its massive losses on mortgage backed securities.

Check back after the market closes Friday for the new Daily Finance closing bell report.

-Produced by Drew Trachtenberg

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