A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – Microsoft and IBM drove US stocks up on Friday after the tech giants reported stronger earnings than analysts had expected.
The Dow Jones industrial rose 96.5 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close at 12,720.5. That’s a gain of 0.76 per cent.
The S&P 500 index inched up 0.88 points to 1,315.38.
An earnings miss by Google caused its stock to plunge eight per cent, pulling down the Nasdaq. The Nasdaq fell 1.63 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 2,786.70.
All three major indexes still ended the week with gains of two per cent or more. The S&P 500 has closed higher on 11 of the past 13 days and is now up 4.6 per cent for the year.
Roughly four stocks rose for every three that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was below average at 3.9 billion shares.
LONDON – European stock markets closed slightly lower on Friday and the euro slipped as investors locked in profits, waiting to see whether Greece can finally strike deals to cut its towering debt mountain.
By the European close, the pointers were that there would be a deal but the devil will be in the details, with some analysts suggesting there might in the end be no clearcut resolution of the crisis that has dragged on for months.
In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed down 0.22 per cent at 5,728.55 points. In Paris, the CAC-40 index also fell 0.22 per cent, to 3,321.50 points and in Frankfurt the DAX 30 slipped 0.18 per cent to 6,404.39 points.
Milan fell 0.13 per cent as investors there waited for the government to present a list of reforms aimed at liberalising closed professions and other sectors in the hope of giving growth a vitally needed boost.
Madrid was off 0.49 per cent.
The euro dropped to $US1.2930 from $US1.2961 in New York late Thursday.
HONG KONG – Asian markets rose for a fourth straight day on strong French and Spanish bond sales, the lowest US jobs claims for almost four years and hopes Greece will agree a debt deal with its creditors.
The euro also strengthened against the dollar and the yen as fears over the eurozone crisis abated while financial plays were lifted by more upbeat earnings reports from US banks.
Tokyo gained 1.47 per cent, or 126.68 points, to 8,766.36, Sydney was 0.59 per cent higher, adding 24.8 points to 4,239.6 and Seoul climbed 1.82 per cent, or 34.92 points, to 1,949.89.
Hong Kong rose 0.84 per cent, or 167.42 points, to 20,110.37 – moving above 20,000 for the first time since early November.
Shanghai climbed 1.00 per cent, or 23.05 points, to 2,319.12 after preliminary data showed contraction in manufacturing activity in January had slowed.
WELLINGTON – Wellington rose 0.36 per cent, or 11.72 points, to 3,276.46.