Tech, telecoms lead Wall Street higher, GE weighs on Dow

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

REUTERS - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were higher Friday, led by technology and telecom stocks, while the Dow's gains were limited by industrials after GE's disappointing results.

GE, long considered a bellwether for the U.S. economy, dropped 2.2 percent after its reported weak demand for new oil, gas and transportation equipment.

Honeywell fell 3.3 percent after lowering its full-year sales forecast on weak demand from airplane makers.

GE was the biggest loser on the Dow and the top drag on the S&P 500. The industrials sector was down 0.4 percent, the only decliner among the 10 major S&P 500 sectors.

"The markets are biding time to see what the next set of earnings bring," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

The weak results in the industrial sector was a "concern" and is a theme that markets could start to jump on, Bakhos said.

At 12:19 p.m. ET (1619 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 23.29 points, or 0.13 percent, at 18,540.52.

The S&P 500 was up 6.49 points, or 0.3 percent, at 2,171.66.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 23.94 points, or 0.47 percent, at 5,097.85.

The S&P and the Nasdaq are on pace to mark their fourth-straight week of gains, while the Dow its third week.

The nine advancing S&P indexes were led by a more than 1 percent rise in telecom stocks and utilities.

AT&T was up 1.5 percent after its results. Verizon rose 1 percent. The company is the front-runner for Yahoo's core business after outbidding others including AT&T, Reuters reported. Yahoo was up 1 percent.

Microsoft which reported strong results on Tuesday rose 1.2 percent to $56.46. It led a 0.42 percent gain in tech stocks.

The S&P 500 and Dow are hovering at record highs on upbeat sentiment over second-quarter corporate earnings, with analysts now expecting smaller profit declines and more companies topping those estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,766 to 1,080. On the Nasdaq, 1,791 issues rose and 910.

The S&P 500 index showed 24new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 67 new highs and 16 new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)