WASHINGTON: US stocks took cues from upbeat earnings reports Friday to extend their rally and close the first positive week this month amid Japan's disaster and fighting in Libya.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average put on 50.03 points (0.41 percent) to 12,220.59, while the broader S&P 500 gained 4.14 (0.32 percent) to 1,313.80.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 6.64 (0.24 percent) to 2,743.06.
"Key earnings reports and an upwardly revised estimate of US economic growth gave the market a lift," said Scott Marcouiller, market strategist for Wells Fargo Advisors.
"Better-than-forecasted earnings from Oracle Corp. and Accenture Plc are helping the markets extend the week's gains, despite continued euro-area debt concerns, Middle East tensions, and the nuclear crisis in Japan," said analysts at brokerage Charles Schwab.
Oracle shares closed up 1.7 percent after their fiscal third quarter earnings came in above analyst estimates, as they said revenues were growing at a 36 percent annual rate in the period.
Accenture shares jumped 4.4 percent after they beat earnings forecasts by 5.6 percent and predicted strong growth in the coming quarter.
Bristol-Myers Squibb put on 3.2 percent after it won approval for a drug to treat patients with melanoma skin cancer.
The market also got support from the Commerce Department's revision of fourth quarter economic growth to 3.1 percent from 2.8 percent, more evidence of the strength of the economic recovery.
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