US indexes post modest gains in midday trading; Nike jumps after earnings beat estimates

U.S. stocks are posting modest gains in midday trading as investors welcomed some positive news on the U.S. economy.

Nike jumped 11 percent after its earnings rose sharply, and Janus Capital Group soared 32 percent after announcing it had hired star bond fund manager Bill Gross.

The government reported that the U.S. economy expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years this spring.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 49 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,997 as of noon Eastern time Friday. The Dow slumped 264 points the day before.

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose two points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,968.

The Nasdaq composite rose 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,478.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.52 percent.