WEEKLY MARKET WRAP UP
U.S. stocks shook off a rocky start to extend modest gains on Friday. Stocks are on track for a strong overall week, as investors digest positive economic data and a series of upbeat quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 127.51 points to 16,805.41, a spike of 2.5% on the week.
The S&P 500 hiked 13.76 points to 1,964.58. The benchmark is on track for a weekly gain of 3.9%, having bounced back after slumping to a six-month intraday low in last week's volatile action. That would represent its largest one-week advance in 2014.
The NASDAQ index gained 30.93 points to 4,483.72. The tech-heavy index enjoyed a 5% advance for the week.
Procter & Gamble shares climbed 3% for the best performance among Dow components. The consumer-goods heavyweight said it plans to get out of its Duracell battery business and posted adjusted quarterly earnings that matched expectations.
Microsoft Corp. another Dow gainer, picked up 1.7% after the tech titan posted quarterly profit and revenue that topped forecasts.
Meanwhile, shipping giant United Parcel Service Inc. gained more than 1% after its quarterly results surpassed estimates, but Amazon.com Inc. dropped nearly 8% after the online retailer reported a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss late Thursday. Amazon was the S&P 500's worst performer.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Commerce Department said sales of new homes in September rose slightly an annual rate of 467,000, hitting a six-year high. Economists expected sales of 455,000.
Around the corner is next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting. The Fed is expected to end its third-round of bond buying, which had been aimed at helping the U.S. economy emerge from the 2008 financial crisis.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 2.27% from Thursday's 2.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 86 cents to $81.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $1.70 to $1,230.80 U.S. an ounce.