Stocks wiped out earlier losses and closed higher on Friday as the biggest tech companies and market leaders soared after posting stellar quarterly results.
Inspired by blowout earnings from tech heavyweights Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google parent Alphabet, stocks rallied at the open, slipped into mostly negative territory during the session, and then recovered in the final hour.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114.67 points, or 0.4%, to 26,428.32. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, or 24.90 points, to 3,271.12, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.4%, or 157.46 points, to 10,745.27.
Shares of Apple roared 10.5% higher to a new all-time high, after the iPhone maker reported record profit, and announced a 4-for-1 stock split. Amazon, meanwhile, jumped 3.7% after delivering results that soared past forecasts for sales and earnings. Facebook shares rallied 8.2% as the social media giant easily topped expectations for earnings and revenue. Alphabet shares were down 3% after the Google parent met expectations despite a dip in advertising revenue.
There was little sign of progress in talks between congressional Democrats, Republicans and the White House on a new coronavirus relief bill with expanded unemployment benefits due to expire Friday. Democrats rejected a White House proposal to temporarily extend the $600-a-week in added benefits, saying the Trump administration didn't understand the severity of the crisis.
Consumer sentiment deteriorated amid a resurgence in new coronavirus cases. The final reading of the index of consumer sentiment stood at 72.5 in July, lower than the flash estimate of 73.2 early in the month and down from June's 78.1, the University of Michigan said Friday.
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