Microsoft, IBM earnings drive Dow up

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock... — Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Financial markets were cautious on Jan. 20, 2012, ahead of another round of debt-reduction talks between Greece and creditors. (Jan. 18, 2012) Credit: AP

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSJanuary 20, 2012

IBM and Microsoft drove the Dow Jones industrial average higher Friday after the tech giants reported stronger earnings than analysts expected.

Microsoft said sales of Xbox games and Office software helped push revenue up in the last quarter of 2011. IBM credited better sales of software and services and raised its earnings outlook for the year.

The Dow rose 96.50 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 12,720.48.The Standard & Poor's 500 index inched up 0.88, or 0.07 percent, to 1,315.38. Both the Dow and S&P ended the week with gains of more than 2 percent.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 1.63, or 0.06 percent, to close at 2,786.70.

Plenty of things are going right, said Frank Fantozzi, CEO of Planned Financial Services, an independent wealth manager in Cleveland.

Applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level in nearly four years. Housing sales are steadily rising. And most companies are reporting better profits.

"Overall, we're moving in the right direction, and it's bolstered the market," Fantozzi said. "The S&P getting over 1,300 this week is a nice sign."

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