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NEW YORK - US stocks swung higher Friday as the market reacted to a batch of favourable earning reports that offset concerns about the pace of the economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20.63 points (0.20 percent) to finish at 10,328.89.
The Nasdaq jumped 31.64 points (1.45 percent) to 2,211.69, driven by strong earnings reports from key tech companies.
The Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index added 6.39 points (0.58 percent) to close at 1,102.47.
Action was choppy before late gains pushed the broad market into positive territory.
"This week the markets have gone through some mixed emotions as traders digested conflicting reports while trying to determine the sustainability of the economic recovery," Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said in a note to investors.
Trading volume was heavy as investors readjusted their portfolios at the quarterly expiration of options and futures contracts, analysts said.
There were no major economic releases on the calendar to steer the market, which is gearing down for the year-end holidays.
"The market lacks a sector that would give it direction: there are concerns about consumption, there are concerns about financials, and commodities are really very linked to the dollar," said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert New York.
The analyst said the tech-rich Nasdaq "played a leadership role today thanks to the earnings results of RIM and Oracle."
Research in Motion soared 10.31 percent to 70.00 dollars. The Canadian smartphone maker reported after the market close Thursday a 58.5 percent rise in quarterly profit that beat market expectations and a BlackBerry tie-up with a second Chinese partner, China Telecom.
Business software giant Oracle gained 6.38 percent at 24.34 dollars after announcing a 12 percent profit rise and gains in taking global market share away from German rival SAP.
Sportswear maker Nike jumped 1.85 percent to 64.42 dollars after reporting better-than-expected earnings and improved orders in the coming months.
Palm, however, plunged 13.23 percent to 10.17 dollars. The handheld maker posted a quarterly loss per share bigger than most analysts expected.
Ford raced 3.09 percent higher to 9.68 dollars after General Motors announced it would wind down its Swedish auto brand Saab after negotiations on its sale failed. Ford owns the other Swedish brand, Volvo.
Boeing, a Dow blue chip, skidded 1.89 percent to 53.44 dollars after Irish budget carrier Ryanair drops talks to buy 200 737-800s.
The action came after solid losses Thursday as financials were hit by concerns about global debt after a second downgrade of Greece's sovereign credit rating in a month, sending the Dow tumbling 1.27 percent.
Bonds weakened. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond rose to 3.546 percent from 3.487 percent Thursday and that on the 30-year bond increased to 4.458 percent from 4.416 percent.
Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
- AFP /ls
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