Positive earning reports lift US stocks

Tech sector leads rally led by Google

U.S. stocks rose on Friday, 18 October 2013 as investors applauded quarterly results from Internet-search titan Google and investment bank Morgan Stanley. Wall Street's advance also comes on the assumption that the Federal Reserve will continue the pace of its $85 billion in monthly asset purchases in the wake of the now-ended budget standoff that closed government operations for 16 days. Congress has voted to finance government operations until Jan. 15 and hike the nation's debt ceiling through the middle of January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 28 points, or 0.2%, to 15,399.65 on Friday. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 51.13 points, or 1.3%, to 3,914.28, giving it a 3.2% gain on the week. The S&P 500 gained 11.35 points, or 0.7%, at 1,744.50, up 2.4% for the week.

General Electric paced gains that included 19 of its 30 components on Friday. Technology paced sector gains among its 10 major industries.

Among major stocks under focus, Google rose above its July 15 record, up $122.61, or nearly 14%, at $1,011.41, a day after reporting a double-digit rise in quarterly revenue. Morgan Stanley jumped 2.6% after reporting earnings nearly doubled in the third quarter, and shares of General Electric rose 3.5%, as the manufacturer reported a backlog in orders for jet engines, turbines and locomotives.

Thanks to Google's surge, the tech sector settled in the lead with a strong gain. Even though the sector ended sharply higher, some other top members underperformed. Qualcomm shed 0.4% and IBM fell 0.6% after plunging 6.4% a day earlier.

Outside of technology, the industrial sector was the only group that ended with a gain larger than 1.0%.

Elsewhere, the energy space outperformed with Schlumberger providing a measure of support after beating on earnings.

Crude oil prices ended with marginal gains on Friday, 18 October 2013. Oil futures settled with a slight gain on Friday, but lower for the week, with economic growth in China providing some support.

Crude for November delivery rose 14 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $100.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices ended 1.2% lower for the week, their fifth loss in six weeks.

Latest data showing that the Chinese economy grew at an annual rate of 7.8% in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, accelerating from the second quarter's 7.5% increase, led to a modest uptick in oil prices. But industrial production and retail sales for the major oil consumer dropped off from the previous month.

Bullion metals ended lower on Friday, 18 October 2013. Gold and silver futures settled with a loss on Friday, pulling back after a big advance the previous day but tallying a modest weekly gain.

Gold for December delivery fell $8.40, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,314.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Following a 3.2% surge in prices Thursday, prices settled with a 3.7% gain for the week. December silver shed 3 cents, or 0.2%, to end at $21.91 an ounce, but after climbing 2.7% on Thursday. It tallied a gain of 3.1% for the week.

Advancers outran decliners by a more than 2-to-1 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange, where 891 million shares traded. Composite volume neared 3.7 billion.

Indian ADRs closed higher on Friday. Among banks, ICICI Bank surged 2.77% to $35.24 and HDFC Bank gained 1.1% to end at $34.85. In the technology space, Wipro rose 1.05% to $11.56 whereas Infosys fell 0.26% to $54.13. Among others, Tata Motors climbed 0.48% to $31.10 and Dr Reddys Labs jumped 1.86% to $40.59.

September existing home sales will be reported on Monday at 10:00 ET. On the earnings front, McDonald's will report their quarterly results prior to the opening bell.

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