Dow Posts Strong Week, But Tech Stocks Pull Nasdaq Down

FOX Business: The Power the Prosper 

The Dow and S&P 500 both ended the week in the green, helped by a round of solid corporate earnings, but slumping technology shares pulled the Nasdaq lower.

Today's Markets 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65.2 points, or 0.5%, to 13029, the S&P 500 gained 1.6 points, or 0.12%, to 1379 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 7.1 points, or 0.24%, to 3000.

The blue chips climbed 1.4% on the week, the S&P 500 was up 0.6%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.4%. The technology sector was the biggest laggard of the week, dropping roughly 1% as tracked by the technology sector SPDR, an ETF.

On the day, the utility, industrial and consumer staple sectors performed the best . However, several financial stocks took heavy losses. Indeed, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) fell 4.7%, while Citigroup (NYSE:C) dropped 2.8%.

The Nasdaq fell as shares of heavyweight Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) tumbled. Indeed, the iPad-maker is officially in correction territory, having fallen 10% from its record high.

On the earnings front, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted quarterly results that beat on the top and bottom lines, as the technology bellwether saw gains across all but one of its business divisions. General Electric (NYSE:GE), the blue-chip conglomerate, and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), the world's biggest oilfield servicing company, also saw their profit and revenue top forecasts.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) profit came in-line with expectations,while its revenue came slightly ahead.

Strong German Data Outweighs Ongoing Spain Worries

The Ifo Institute's closely-watched gauge of German business sentiment rose slightly in April, compared to expectations of a drop. Germany is Europe's biggest economy, and there have been worries among economists that it may suffer as some of its embattled trader partners see their economies contract.

"Today’s release suggests that German economic conditions remain buoyant, mainly reflecting robust domestic demand," analysts at Nomura wrote in a research note.

Still, the Spanish debt situation remained a big concern around European trading desks. The yield on Spain's 10-year note rose above the painful 6% level before receding somewhat, according to a report by Reuters. Additionally, the cost to insure against a Spanish and Italian default jumped, Markit, a London-based firm that keeps track of credit default swap spreads said on Friday.

There are no major economic reports on tap for the day.

Commodities markets were mostly higher. Crude oil traded in New York climbed 76 cents, or 0.76%, to $103.05 a barrel. Wholesale RBOB gasoline dipped a penny, or 0.36%, to $3.14 a gallon.

In metals, gold climbed $1.40, or 0.09%, to $1,643.

Foreign Markets 

European blue chips rallied 1.2%, the English FTSE 100 gained 0.48% to 5772 and the German DAX jumped 1.2% to 6750.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 fell 0.28% to 9561 and the Chinese Hang Seng edged higher by 0.07% to 21011.