Nasdaq closes at record high
NEW YORK, (AFP) – The Nasdaq closed at a record high for the second straight session Friday, jumping more than 0.9 percent following a surge in Google shares.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index leaped 46.96 points (0.91 percent) to 5,210.14.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 33.80 (0.19 percent) to 18,086.45, while the broad-based S&P 500 added 2.35 (0.11 percent) at 2,126.64.
Google powered 16.1 percent higher after reporting that second-quarter net income climbed two percent to $3.4 billion on an 11 percent rise in revenue to $17.7 billion, thanks in part to increases in mobile advertising.
The tech giant also gave a bullish outlook on its YouTube business and hinted that moves to return cash to shareholders were in the horizon.
The surge lifted Google's market capitalization to above $450 billion, second only to Apple, which is valued at $746 billion. The spike in the share price added about $4 billion each to the fortunes of co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Other tech stocks to rise included Apple (0.9 percent) Facebook (+4.5 percent) and Priceline (+2.8 percent).
Among Dow companies, Boeing fell 1.1 percent after announcing a $536 million charge due to higher costs in its tanker program for the US Air Force.
The aerospace giant said the charge would amount to 77 cents per share, and that it would have to adjust downward its earnings outlook for the full year.
Other Dow components to fall included Chevron and Intel (both -1.4 percent).
General Electric rose 0.7 percent after it lifted its forecast for 2015 industrial earnings on strong orders in aviation and some other businesses.
Fertilizer company CF Industries surged 9.9 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported it was in advanced talks for a merger deal with Dutch company OCI.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba rose 2.2 percent as the Chinese stock market continued to rally. Yahoo, which holds a large stake in Alibaba, added 2.0 percent.
Car-rental company Hertz surged 11.9 percent after it announced a $1 billion share repurchase program and said it would achieve $300 million in annualized cost savings by the end of 2015. The company also finished restating earnings for 2011-2013.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury held steady at 2.35 percent, while the 30year dropped to 3.08 percent from 3.15 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.