A blow-out quarter from Google pushed the Nasdaq up 1 percent on Friday, while the Dow fell as bank shares once again sank on concerns about the widening foreclosure crisis. The S&P was flat following the most heavily traded morning for the index in at least a month as investors digested mixed results from conglomerate GE and comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that pointed to more monetary easing.
Financial shares declined on worries the foreclosure quagmire could not only affect bank profits, but spread to credit markets and the overall economy. The KBW bank index dropped 2 percent, falling for the third straight day. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co slid 3.3 percent to $37.45, while Bank of America Corp hit a new 52-week low of $11.74 before retracing some of that loss to trade at $12.02, off 4.6 percent. Trading volume in both Dow components eclipsed their 50-day averages.
Google Inc boosted the Nasdaq, surging 11.1 percent to $600.70 a day after reported third-quarter revenue that soared above expectations. The AMEX Interactive Week Internet Index gained 1.6 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 37.35 points, or 0.34 percent, to 11,057.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index inched up 0.77 of a point, or 0.07 percent, to 1,174.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 24.41 points, or 1.00 percent, to 2,459.79.