US stocks have moved higher following a bullish report on German business sentiment and solid earnings results from computer company Hewlett-Packard.
About 40 minutes into Friday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 51.51 points (0.37 per cent) to 13,932.13.
The broad-based S&P 500 increased 6.16 (0.41 per cent) to 1,508.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 17.08 (0.55 per cent) to 3,148.57.
Stocks rebounded from two straight days of losses after the German Ifo business climate index notched its strongest gain in two and a half years, hitting its highest level since April 2012.
Market watchers also highlighted comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, who told CNBC that the Fed’s loose monetary policy will remain in effect for “a long time.”
Analyst Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com called Bullard’s comments “an early buying catalyst.”
The market was also buoyed by a Hewlett-Packard earnings report that bested analyst expectations. Shares in the struggling computer company, a Dow component, moved 6.7 per cent higher.
Insurer American International Group late Thursday posted a $4 billion loss, yet reported better-than-expected operating earnings. AIG shares were up 3.7 per cent.
Texas Instruments, a semiconductor company, picked up 3.4 per cent after announcing a 33 per cent increase in its dividend and $5 billion in share buybacks.
General Motors inched up 0.2 per cent following reports that it plans to invest $7.3 billion in its South Korean unit over the next five years.
Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. jumped 7.7 per cent after reporting record petroleum production levels for 2012.
Aruba Networks, which provides network services for mobile enterprises, surged 19.9 per cent after reporting earnings that topped estimates.
Abercrombie & Fitch sank 4.1 per cent as the retailer’s tepid guidance for 2013 earnings offset an increase in the company’s dividend.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell to 1.97 per cent from 1.98 per cent late Thursday, while the 30-year fell to 3.16 per cent from 3.17 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
