Friday's mid-afternoon trade: stocks rebound with help from tech shares; IBM tumbles

Most US stocks rose on Friday, bouncing back a day after the S&P 500 closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time this year, but IBM's largest drop in eight years held back the Dow. Less than stellar earnings reports from McDonald's and General Electric also weighed on the bluechips. But some marquee tech names bolstered the broader market and drove the Nasdaq up more than 1 percent, a day after strong results from Google and Microsoft.
A more than 8 percent decline in International Business Machines led the Dow lower after the company's quarterly results missed estimates. IBM was recently down 8.2 percent at $190.25, its largest daily percentage drop since April 15, 2005. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 13.59 points, or 0.09 percent, to 14,523.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 11.53 points, or 0.75 percent, to 1,553.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 41.03 points, or 1.30 percent, to 3,207.40.
GE shares fell 3.9 percent to $21.79 after the conglomerate reported a quarterly profit in line with expectations as GE sold more jet engines and shed its stake in NBC Universal. McDonald's stock lost 2.1 percent to $99.80 after the world's biggest fast-food chain reported a first-quarter profit.