The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Friday on the back of strong earnings from Procter & Gamble as Wall Street tried to regain its footing after a sharp sell-off in the prior session.
The 30-stock index gained 64.89 points to end the week at 25,444.34, led by a 8.8 percent surge in Procter & Gamble shares, their biggest since Oct. 28, 2008. The Dow also posted its first weekly gain in four, climbing 0.4% in that time. Procter surged after reporting better-than-expected earnings. The company said it got a boost from strong beauty-product sales.
The S&P 500 docked one point to 2,767.78, as declines in health care and consumer discretionary offset a 2.3% gain in consumer staples.
The NASDAQ lost 36.11 points to 7,449.03, as Facebook, Amazon and Netflix all pulled back.
Honeywell and Schlumberger also reported better-than-forecast profits. American Express, PayPal and Skechers all posted on Thursday earnings that topped analyst expectations. American Express shares rose 3.8%, while PayPal hiked 9.4% and Skechers 13.8%
The corporate earnings season is off to a strong start. With more than 15% of S&P 500 companies having reported, 83% have topped analyst expectations
Overnight, China said its economy grew by 6.5% in the third quarter, missing expectations. Chinese equities surged, however, as officials took steps to support the market, and that was helping sentiment in the U.S.
Despite Friday's gains, however, stocks remain down sharply for the month. The Dow and S&P 500 have fallen more than 4% each in October, while the NASDAQ is down nearly 7%.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury faded Friday, raising yields to 3.20% from Thursday’s 3.17%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 62 cents at $69.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped 40 cents an ounce to $1,229.70
