(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks closed mostly higher on Friday as a rally in technology stocks buoyed investor sentiment. However, weakness in crude oil prices left little room for upside.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15.87 points or 0.19% to finish at 8,539.73. The S&P 500 gained 19.75 points or 1.09% to end at 921.23. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 19.75 points or 1.09% to 1,827.47.
Technology stocks rallied.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) surged 83 cents or 2.43% to $35 after Goldman Sachs added shares of the software giant to its conviction buy" list .Hewlett Packard (NYSE:
HPQ) rose 80 cents or 2.13% to $38.35.
Financials finished with significant gains. Bank of America (NYSE:
BAC) jumped 32 cents or 2.48% to $13.22. JP Morgan (NYSE:
JPM) climbed 83 cents or 2.43% to $35.American Express Co. (NYSE:
AXP) gained 54 cents or 2.24% to $24.64.
Shares of Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:
AA), the largest aluminum maker, increased 22 cents or 2.04% to $11.
On the downside, soft drinks maker Coca Cola Co. (NYSE:
KO) lost 74 cents or 1.49% to $48.81
Shares of Verizon (NYSE:
VZ) declined 43 cents or 1.43% to $29.66.
Energy stocks retreated. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:
XOM) fell 39 cents or 0.55% to $71.05. Chevron Corp. (NYSE:
CVX) dropped 37 cents or 0.54% to $68.06.
Late on Thursday, Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:
RIMM) reported that first fiscal quarter earnings jumped 33% to $643 million, or $1.12 a share, compared to earnings of $482.5 million, or 84 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $564.4 million, or 98 cents a share. Revenue jumped 53% to $3.42 billion for the quarter. However, the financial outlook provided by the smartphone maker fell short of analyst estimates. For the second quarter ending August 29, RIM said it expects revenue in the range of $3.45 billion and $3.7 billion, and earnings per share in the range of 94 cents and $1.03. Shares of the Blackberry maker slumped $3.77 or 4.92% to $72.78.
Pistol maker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.
