US Stocks Gain Friday, up for Third Week

(Dow Jones) - Strong earnings from International Business Machines powered blue-chip stocks higher for the fourth consecutive session even as discouraging quarterly reports from other bellwethers kept the broader market flat.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96.50 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,720.48, ending Friday at the session high. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index turned positive in the final minutes, gaining 0.88 point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,315.38. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.63 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,786.70. Each measure finished with a third straight weekly gain.

The broad market for US stocks has posted the best start to a new year in 15 years. "The market seemed due for a rest, and it was given an excuse for one with really mixed earnings," said Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust. "[But] fundamentals are back in play."

The Dow rose to a six-month high, with IBM accounting for nearly two-thirds of the index's gains. Shares rose $8, or 4.4 percent, to $188.52, after the company's better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings late Thursday.

Microsoft advanced $1.59, or 5.7 percent, to $29.71 after the company late Thursday reported fiscal second-quarter earnings that beat expectations. The company also lowered its operating expense outlook for 2012.

Intel gained 75 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $26.38, after the chip maker late Thursday topped fourth-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts, amid strength in the personal computer business.

Google fell $53.58, or 8.4 percent, to $585.99, and was the S&P 500's biggest laggard after reporting late Thursday fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that fell short of expectations. The average cost that advertisers paid Google per click declined from year-ago levels. Despite Google's decline, technology stocks on the S&P 500 were one of three sectors in positive territory on Friday.

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