U.S. stocks moved sharply higher in early trading Friday after several big-name technology companies reported strong quarterly earnings. The gains put the Standard & Poor’s 500 index back into positive territory for the year following a market swoon in August and September.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 139 points, or 0.8 percent, to 17,628 as of 10:12 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 21 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,073. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, gained 97 points, or 2 percent, to 5,017.
TECH WINS: Microsoft, Amazon and Google’s parent company Alphabet all notched gains a day after the three tech giants reported surprisingly strong quarterly results. Microsoft jumped $5.15, or 10.7 percent, to $53.18, while Amazon gained $39.94, or 7.1 percent, to $603.85. Alphabet climbed $56.52, or 8.3 percent, to $737.66.
CHARGING AHEAD: Shares in Capital One Financial rose 6.6 percent. The credit card issuer and lender reported third-quarter earnings late Thursday that came in ahead of Wall Street’s expectations. The stock added $4.96 to $79.90.
EUROPEAN ACTION: Stocks rallied for a second day in Europe in anticipation that the European Central Bank may inject more financial support into Europe’s ailing economy. Mario Draghi, head of the ECB, signaled Thursday that the bank could consider providing more stimulus during its meeting in December. Germany’s DAX gained 3.3 percent, while France’s CAC 40 rose 2.7 percent.
ASIAN SCORECARD: Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.1 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.9 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.3 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China rose 1.3 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.7 percent.
ENERGY: In oil futures trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 87 cents to $44.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent Crude fell 43 cents to $47.65 a barrel in London.
BONDS AND CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.08 percent from 2.03 percent the day before. The dollar rose to 121.15 yen. The euro fell to $1.1025.
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