US stocks ended higher on Friday after solid results from network gear maker Juniper Networks Inc and industrial conglomerate General Electric Co helped lift investors' hopes for robust results from corporate America in coming weeks.
Strength in telecommunications-related issues helped push the Nasdaq Composite Index to a fresh 2-1/2 year high, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both reached peaks unseen in a bit under two years.
"If the first week is any precursor, then I think the earnings season is going to be nothing short of fantastic," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.
Wall Street is bracing for a rush of earnings reports in the next two weeks, when more than half the companies in the S&P 500 will issue their corporate scorecards.
Solid economic data also underpinned sentiment after a report showed US consumer sentiment jumped in early January to its highest level in more than three years as stock indexes rose and job seekers felt more confident.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 31.38 points, or 1.49 percent, to 2,140.46, hitting its highest level since July 3, 2001.
The S&P 500 rose 7.78 points, or 0.69 percent, to 1,139.83 to post its highest close since early April 1, 2002.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 46.66 points, or 0.44 percent, to 10,600.51, its highest peak since March 19, 2002.
The Dow and the S&P 500 both have racked up eight straight weeks of gains, while the Nasdaq wrapped up its sixth in a row. For the week, the Dow rose 1.4 percent, the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.6 percent, and the S&P 500 rose 1.6 percent.
The stock market will be closed on Monday in observance of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr's birthday.
Juniper, the No 2 maker of networking gear, jumped $7, or 30.5 percent, to $29.93.
The company said quarterly net profit and sales rose, topping expectations. Juniper also forecast sales and earnings in the current first quarter that would top analysts' targets.
Rival telecom equipment maker Lucent Technologies Inc rose 14 cents, or three percent, to $4.61 and ranked as the most active share on the New York Stock Exchange.
GE rose $1.35, or 4 percent, to $33.35 and helped lead the Dow higher.
The industrial conglomerate said quarterly earnings surged 47 percent on a turnaround at its reinsurance unit. GE's chairman said GE is gathering momentum to produce earnings growth of at least 10 percent in 2005.
But Johnson & Johnson slumped $1.39, or 3 percent, to $50.45 and weighed on the Dow.
Several brokerage firms issued reports predicting dramatic declines in the drugmaker's revenue. Semiconductor maker Cree Inc rallied $4.73, or 22 percent, to $25.85.
The company posted a jump in quarterly profit, thanks to strong sales of its light-emitting diodes (LED) used in mobile phones, and gave a rosy outlook.
Oil shares blazed higher as chilly weather in the US Northeast sent NYMEX crude oil futures up about 5 percent.
The S&P Oil & Gas Exploration Index surged 12 percent.
In economic news, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 103.2 in early January from 92.5 in December. Other economic reports, however, were not as upbeat.
The output of American factories, mines and utilities rose 0.1 percent in December, the Federal Reserve said.
That was less than expected, and the report could renew concerns over the US factory sector's recovery.
Inventories at US businesses climbed slightly more than expected in November but failed to keep up with the faster sales pace, a separate government report showed, suggesting companies may need to refill shelves to keep up with demand.
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