Stocks rise on profit gains from Microsoft, others
Source: AP-Excite
By BERNARD CONDON
NEW YORK (AP) - Strong third-quarter results from technology companies drove investors into stocks on Friday, giving the market its third straight weekly gain.
After reporting results that topped expectations, Microsoft rose 6 percent and Amazon.com rose 9 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 index hit a record. The Nasdaq is the highest it's been in 13 years.
The gains were broad. All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 rose, led by telecommunications with an increase of 1 percent.
Earnings for companies in the S&P 500 index are expected to grow 4.5 percent in the third quarter over the same period a year ago, according to S&P Capital IQ, a research firm. While respectable, that rate of growth is less than half what was expected at the start of the year.
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Trader Jonathan Niles, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. Earnings gains from Microsoft and other big U.S. companies are pushing the stock market higher in early trading. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)