Dow OK despite low Caterpillar earnings

A big earnings miss from Caterpillar Friday wasn't enough to derail a rally that pushed the stock market up 2 percent for the week.

Caterpillar Inc. fell nearly 6 percent after the heavy equipment maker earned less than analysts expected last quarter, partly because of the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. The company is seen as a bellwether for the global economy because it sells construction and mining machinery all over the world.

The weaker results from Caterpillar and a continuing deadlock over raising the U.S. borrowing limit capped the stock market's gains.

Overseas markets rose after European leaders reached a deal late Thursday aimed at containing the region's debt crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 43.25 points, or 0.34 percent, to 12,681.16. Even with the decline, the Dow gained 1.6 percent for the week. It has finished three out of the last four weeks higher than where it started.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 1.22, or 0.09 percent, to 1,345.02. It finished the week with a gain of 2.2 percent.

Energy, technology and consumer discretionary companies were the only three of the 10 industries tracked by the S&P 500 that rose. That was still enough to push the broad market index higher.