Stocks end with a gain
Wall Street surges as investors welcome quarterly results from Ford, Microsoft, AmEx. Nasdaq ends higher for 7th week in a row.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks rallied Friday after Ford, Microsoft and American Express reported results that met or topped analysts' expectations.
The Nasdaq ended higher for its 7th week in a row, while the Dow and S&P 500 ended the week slightly lower after six straight weeks of gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 119 points, or 1.5% during the day. The S&P 500 (SPX) index gained 14 points, or 1.7%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 42 points, or 2.6%.
Stocks rallied on the last day of a turbulent week on Wall Street where investors showed some caution.
Bets that the worst is over for the economy and corporate America lifted stocks. The S&P 500 climbed by more than 29% over the six weeks prior to Monday, following a rout that left the index at 12-year lows.
"We have a market that after a six-week rally was vulnerable to a pullback, sold off 4% or 5% and is now looking to move higher again," said Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co.
He said that the day's profit reports and economic news helped, but that stocks are really looking to what corporations and growth will look like six or nine months out.
Stocks briefly trimmed gains after regulators released what was billed as a detailed report on how the government is running its "stress tests" of the leading U.S. banks. However, the report offered little new information. Results from the tests won't be announced until May 4.
Also in play: News that General Motors plans to kill off its Pontiac car brand as it struggles to stay afloat.
Automakers: Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500), considered to be the healthiest of the three Detroit automakers, said Friday it lost $1.4 billion in the first quarter as it contended with the worst quarter for the industry in 26 years.
Excluding special items, Ford said it lost $1.8 billion, or 75 cents per share, versus a profit of 20 cents per share a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would lose $1.23 per share. Ford's revenue also plunged versus a year ago but topped estimates.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally said he believes the company can continue to function without receiving a federal bailout like rivals Chrysler and General Motors (GM, Fortune 500). Ford shares jumped 11.4% Friday.
Time is running out for Chrysler, which could enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as soon as next week, according to reports, if it can't close deals with creditors and Italian automaker Fiat. Chrysler is privately owned.
Meanwhile, General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) said late Thursday that it will temporarily shut down 13 of 20 North American plants this summer to cut inventory. The company has until June 1 to cut its debt and labor costs or face Chapter 11 as well. Shares gained 4.3% Friday.
So far the automakers' woes have had a limited impact on Wall Street.
"We've been dealing with the issues with the automakers for months and we already knew Ford is stronger than the others," Goldman said.
Quarterly results: After the close Thursday, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales on weaker earnings that met estimates. Shares of the Dow component gained 10.5% Friday.
Dow component American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) reported weaker quarterly earnings that topped estimates, also after the close Thursday. Shares gained 20.7% Friday morning.
Dow component 3M (MMM, Fortune 500) reported weaker quarterly sales and earnings Friday morning and cut its full-year earnings forecast for the second time. The company, which makes everything from Scotch tape to power lines, is seen as a proxy for the economy because of the broad range of its business. Shares gained 5%.
Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates late Thursday. Shares gained 4.8% Friday.
Honeywell (HON, Fortune 500) reported weaker quarterly sales that topped estimates on weaker earnings that met estimates Friday morning. The company also cut its 2009 profit outlook, due to the global economic slowdown. Shares fell 2.9%.
Schlumberger (SLB) reported weaker earnings that topped forecasts on weaker sales that missed estimates. The leading oilfield services company in the world also gave a dour forecast for the industry for the rest of this year and for 2010. Shares gained 7%.
Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers by over three to one on volume of almost 1.73 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners two to one on volume of 2.54 billion shares.
Economy: March new home sales fell from the previous month, after that month's sales figures were revised higher, the Census Bureau reported Friday morning. Sales fell to a 356,000 annual unit rate from an upwardly revised 358,000 unit annual rate in February. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected sales at a 337,000 unit annual rate.
March durable goods orders fell 0.8% versus forecasts for a drop of 1.5%. Orders of goods meant to last 3 years or more rose 3.4% in February.
Bonds: Treasury prices slumped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 2.99% from 2.91% Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Lending rates were mixed. The 3-month Libor rate fell to 1.07% from 1.09% Thursday, according to Bloomberg.com. The overnight Libor rate held stead at 0.2%. Libor is a bank-to-bank lending rate.
Other markets: In global trading, Asian markets ended mixed and European markets ended higher.
In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.
U.S. light crude oil for June delivery rose $1.94 to $51.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for June delivery rose $7.50 to settle at $914.10 an ounce. 
