By Anora Mahmudova and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks moved higher Friday,
putting the main benchmarks on track to finish the week roughly
where they started it.
Technology and financial stocks led gains in the S&P 500 as
companies such as Google Inc. and Huntington Bancshares Inc.
reported earnings.
Investors also digested the implications of the deadly Malaysia
Airlines jet crash in Ukraine and Israel's invasion of Gaza, both
of which triggered a selloff on Thursday.
The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 7.2 points, or 0.4%, to 1,965.34. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added 51.50 points, or 0.3%, to
17,027.64. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) gained 26 points, or 0.6%,
to 4,388.73.
Equities on Thursday were rattled by news that 298 passengers
were killed in a Malaysia Airlines crash in eastern Ukraine, where
fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian troops has
been going on for months.
U.S. intelligence officials said the jet was shot down by a
surface-to-air missile. Follow developments on Flight MH17
here.
Meanwhile, Israel launched an open-ended ground invasion of Gaza
aimed at crushing Hamas militants after 10 days of aerial
bombardment.
But on Friday, stocks were recovering the ground lost a day
earlier.
"Geo-political headlines dampen consumer sentiment, but this
market has been remarkably resilient," said Terry Sandven, chief
equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "Ultimately, this
is an earnings-driven market and earnings so far have been
encouraging, especially among large banks."
Investors had a muted reaction to a weaker-than-expected
consumer sentiment report. Separately, the Conference Board's June
leading-economic index rose in June, a sign that the economy could
strengthen in the second half of the year.
Google rallies after earnings; AMD tumbles
Shares of General Electric (GE) gave up premarket gains and were
0.8% lower after the industrial conglomerate's second-quarter
earnings met Wall Street's projection. GE also said it's targeting
the IPO of its Synchrony Financial business for the end of
July.
Huntington Bancshares Inc.(HBAN) led S&P advancers with a
3.7% climb after the regional bank's second-quarter profit rose
9%.
Google (GOOG) shares rallied 2%, after the Internet company late
Thursday posted second-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street's
expectation.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) tumbled 19% after
the chip maker's second-quarter adjusted earnings missed analysts'
projections. For more on today's notable movers, read our regular
Movers and Shakers column.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Average fell 1% as investors sought the
perceived safety of the Japanese yen. But the U.S. dollar (USDJPY)
eventually pared its losses against the yen. European stocks slid
on the geopolitical tensions, and Russia's MICEX dropped 2.1%.
In the commodities market, gold futures (GCQ4) fell $9.5 to
$1,307 an ounce. August crude futures (CLQ4) fell 30 cents to
$102.88 a barrel.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
A glimpse of lives lost on Flight MH17
We're in the third biggest stock bubble in U.S. history
Brokerages don't want to put your interests first
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