The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 267 points, or 2.3%, to close at 11,809. The gains put the blue-chip index back in positive territory for the year and up 1.4% on the week, marking its fourth consecutive week of gains.
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The S&P 500 saw its third-straight week of gains, rising 1.1%. On Friday, the index added 23 points, or 1.9%, to finish at 1238. The Nasdaq fell 1.1% on the week, marking its first losing week in three weeks. The index finished 39 points, or 1.5% higher, at 2638 on Friday. European leaders kicked off a weekend summit to discuss how to leverage the region's rescue fund in Brussels on Friday. Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have pushed back their targeted date for agreeing on a plan from Sunday to Wednesday, saying that they are aiming for an "ambitious" plan. A summit on Oct. 26 was added to the original one slated for Sunday, Oct. 23. The Dow was positive for the entire session, breaking a streak of 10 straight sessions where it had changed direction on an intraday basis, swinging from positive to negative or vice versa, according to Dow Jones. That was the longest such run since a stretch in May 2009 when the market was still digesting its bounce off the financial crisis lows set in March of that year. The volatility was the result of several incremental developments in Europe, which overshadowed encouraging U.S. economic data and some bright spots in earnings. While lawmakers in Europe seem committed to reaching a resolution, they still disagree over how to leverage the eurozone rescue fund. "The manic depressive pendulum has swung towards hope and away from fear" today, said James Daily, portfolio manager with Team Asset Strategy Fund. "It's been our view that Europe will eventually get to where they need to go even if it's a messy process to get Germany on board. Ultimately they will have to compromise, much like the U.S. did when congress passed the TARP (Trouble Asset Relief) program" in 2008, he added. London's FTSE gained 1.9% and Germany's DAX vaulted 3.6%. Asian stocks edged higher and copper rallied after five days of losses. Japan's Nikkei Average finished about flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.24%. General Electric(GE) and Bank of America(BAC) were the only Dow components to finish in negative territory. On Friday, GE said third-quarter profits rose 18% helped by sales of industrial products overseas but its profit margin slipped compared to a year ago. CEO Jeff Immelt said during the company's earnings call that GE expects momentum in orders abroad even though emerging markets could "continue with some volatility." Shares lost 1.9% to $16.31. Meanwhile, Dow component McDonald's(MCD) was among the Dow's top performers alongside Travelers(TRV) and American Express(AXP). Shares of McDonald's rose 3.7% to $92.32 after the fast-food chain beat profit expectations with a 8.6% rise in third-quarter earnings. Chipotle Mexican Grill(CMG) saw its stock advance 8.3% to $333.49 after the company's earnings jumped 25% in the third quarter. Earnings came in at $1.90 a share, beating Wall Street's estimate of $1.85 a share, even as high food costs pushed down margins. Honeywell's(HON) stock gained 5.8% to close at $51.28 after the aerospace company reported a profit jump of 44% in the third quarter and raised its full-year sales outlook by 13% to $36.70 billion from last year's sales. Shares of Microsoft(MSFT) inched 0.4% higher to $27.16 after the software maker largely met profit expectations on Thursday, reporting earnings of $5.74 billion for the fiscal first quarter, up from $5.4 billion a year ago. Materials, capital goods and consumer discretionary stocks were the session's strongest sectors. Of the 4.5 billion shares that traded on the New York Stock Exchange, 82% rose and 16% declined. On the Nasdaq, some 2.2 billion stocks changed hands. The dollar index, a measure of the dollar's value against a basket of currencies, weakened 0.85%. The benchmark 10-year Treasury was down 7/32, lifting the yield to 2.219%. In the commodities market, gold for December delivery was adding $23.20, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,636.10 an ounce. The December crude oil contract rose $1.33, or 1.5%, to close at $87.40 a barrel. No U.S. economic releases are slated for Friday. .
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