Stocks rattled off an unequivocal up day Friday.
The gains were not huge, with the Dow ending up 0.7%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite notched a 0.4% win. But the advance came despite some possibly worrisome political events expected over the weekend in Spain, and an election in Japan — the kind of thing which, if investors were feeling nervous, would be enough to send stocks ducking for cover.
X Instead, the Dow industrials, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all clocked another set of new highs. The Dow turned its best performance in more than a month.
Preliminary data showed volume mixed, up on the NYSE and lower on the Nasdaq, despite options expirations that normally drive volume sharply higher.
More than a half-dozen Dow industrials closed with gains of better than 1%. UnitedHealth Group (UNH) led the ascent, up more than 2% to breakout past a 200.09 buy point in a flat base. The stock was still in a buy range at the closing bell.
Procter & Gamble (PG) tumbled nearly 4% after beating fiscal first-quarter earnings expectations by a penny, but stopping just short of targets on the revenue line. The fall stabbed below the stock's 40-week moving average, dealing the chart a serious setback.
General Electric (GE) managed a minor miracle, erasing an early 6% sell-off to close 1.1% higher. The multi-industrial heavyweight missed analysts' Q3 earnings targets, then chopped back its full year earnings guidance and halved expectations for cash flow. But plans to offload $20 billion of the company's business portfolio within two years appeared to buoy some investors' spirits.
It was a big week for IPOs. Internet content provider Sea Ltd. (SE) jumped 8% in its first day of trade on Friday. MongoDB (MDB) pulled back 4% Friday, giving back a small piece of the 32% gained in its opening day of trade Thursday.
China-based Qudian (QD) dropped 5% for the day, but ended 36% above Wednesday's IPO price.
On the IBD 50 list, Atlassian (TEAM) was the clear champion. The project-management software developer soared 25% after reporting a solid beat with its fiscal first-quarter report late Thursday. The move left shares 27% above a 39.35 buy point, a signal for investors to lock in a portion of their profit.
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