Specialist David Haubner works with traders at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Oct. 17, 2014. U.S. stocks opened higher Friday as investors weighed the latest corporate earnings news and data showing home construction picked up last month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
October 17, 2014 - 9:01 AM
NEW YORK, N.Y. - U.S. stocks are powering higher at midday as investors welcome a round of strong company earnings reports.
General Electric, Morgan Stanley and Textron all rose after reporting results that were better than analysts expected.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 294 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 16,409 as of 11:57 a.m. Eastern time Friday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 32 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 1,895. The Nasdaq composite rose 70 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 4,287.
European markets also made big gains. France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX each rose 3 per cent.
The price of oil rose 59 cents to $83.29 a barrel. It's still down 3 per cent for the week.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.21 per cent.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014