NEW YORK: US stocks surged higher Friday as strong Google earnings and a large pharmaceutical deal offset worries about worsening international crises in Ukraine and Gaza.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 123.37 points (0.73 percent) to 17,100.18.
The broad-based S&P 500 powered up 20.10 (1.03 percent) to 1,978.22, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index leaped by 68.70 (1.57 percent) to 4,432.15.
Friday's gains in the Nasdaq more than counterbalanced the losses from Thursday in the wake of the crash of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane in the conflict zone of eastern Ukraine. All three indices finished with gains for the week.
"Investors are continuing to embrace risk and buy every dip," said David Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management.
"Many investors fear missing out on the bull market," said Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets.
Google shot up 3.7 percent as second-quarter earnings rose six percent to $3.42 billion on a 22 percent increase in revenues behind more "paid clicks."
Drug maker AbbVie sealed a tax-cutting $54 billion takeover deal with Dublin-based Shire Pharmaceuticals as it plans to switch its tax base to Britain to avoid higher US taxes. AbbVie rose 2.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the United States on Friday built a case that pro-Moscow separatists downed a Malaysian airliner in Ukraine with a surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board with the possible technical assistance of Russians.
And Israel warned of a wider Gaza assault as the Palestinian death count reached 289 on the 11th day of its campaign.
Many technology stocks rose, including Apple (+1.4 percent), Amazon (+1.8 percent) and Facebook (+3.0 percent), all of which report earnings next week.
Dow component General Electric finished 0.6 percent lower as earnings of 39 cents per share matched analyst expectations on revenues that came in slightly below analyst forecasts.
Logistics firm FedEx was charged by a federal grand jury with shipping prescription drugs and controlled substances for illegal Internet pharmacies, but nevertheless advanced 0.6 percent.
Airlines, which were punished Thursday following the Malaysia Airlines crash, rallied. American Airlines (+2.9 percent), Delta Air Lines (+1.7 percent) and United Continental (+2.1 percent) all rose.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.48 percent from 2.47 percent Thursday, while the 30-year held steady at 3.29 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
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