New York, November 14: US stocks rose Friday, capping their second straight weekly gain after positive earnings reports from retailers.
Shares were led higher by entertainment conglomerate Disney, which posted an 18-percent rise in fourth-quarter profit to $895 million amid strong performances at its ESPN sports network and other cable channels.
Retailers Abercrombie & Fitch and JC Penney also posted better-than-expected profits, which bodes well ahead of the upcoming holiday shopping season.
The blue-chip Dow gained 73 points, or 0.72 percent, to 10,270.47. The broader Standard and Poor’s 500 Index added 6.24 points, or 0.57 percent, to 1,093.48. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was up 18.86 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,167.88.
All major indices posted big gains for the week, the Dow rising 2.46 percent, the S&P 500 2.26 percent and the Nasdaq 2.62 percent.
But the dollar fell against most major currencies, dropping against the euro to 67.10 euro cents from 67.36 euro cents Thursday. The dollar declined against the Japanese currency to 89.66 yen from 90.35 yen.
–IANS–