NEW YORK — The Dow Jones industrial average continued climbing Friday, notching its third straight week of gains.
The Dow has lost ground only three days in February. The average of 30 large companies rose 1 percent this week and is up 4.2 percent for the month.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 1 percent this week and is up 4.4 percent in February. Better manufacturing reports and stronger earnings have pushed stocks higher this month.
Caterpillar Inc. rose 2.4 percent to lead the Dow. The company said sales of its heavy construction and mining equipment surged 49 percent last month.
Alcoa Inc. fell 1.4 percent,the largest drop.
The Dow gained 73.11 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 12,391.25. The S&P 500 rose 2.58 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,343.01. The Nasdaq composite rose 2.37, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,833.95.
The Nasdaq is 25 points away from reaching a 10-year high.
“There’s a bullish bias in the market fueled by higherthan-expected earnings,” said Frederic Dickson, the Lake Oswego, Ore.-based chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co., which oversees about $29 billion. “People are waking up and realizing that things are stabilizing so they need to put money to work. There might be some optimism that China will not have a tsunami. There’s a perception that by moving slowly and steadily [China] can curb growth back to a reasonable rate.”
Finance ministers and central bankers from countries in the Group of 20 met in Paris on Friday to discuss issues affecting the global economy. In a speech at the conference, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said countries with large trade surpluses like China should let their currencies rise in value in order to prevent another financial crisis. He also said that countries with large trade deficits must reduce government spending over time, an apparent reference to the United States.
Campbell Soup Co. fell 4 percent after the company said its profit fell 8 percent in its latest quarter. The company also cut its outlook for the rest of its fiscal year.
Intuit Inc. jumped 7.3 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to $54.11 after the personal finance software maker raised its forecast for full-year earnings growth late Thursday.
Apple slumped 2.2 percent to $350.56. The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are beginning to examine whether Apple’s new media subscription service violates antitrust laws, according to two people familiar with the matter. The agencies haven’t decided whether to pursue a more formal investigation as the examination is at a preliminary stage, said the people, who requested anonymity because the matter is confidential.
Rising shares outpaced falling ones by a nearly three to two margin on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated floor volume was 4 billion shares.
Markets will be closed Monday for the Washington’s Birthday holiday.
Information for this article was contributed by Rita Nazareth and Elizabeth Stanton of Bloomberg News.
Business, Pages 28 on 02/19/2011