NEW YORK — U.S. stocks Friday rallied to solid weekly gains after upbeat results from Research In Motion Ltd. bolstered the technology sector and financials drew strength on word Merrill Lynch & Co. might draw a large investment from overseas.
Coming on the heels of Oracle Corp.’s blow-out second-quarter profit report Thursday, Research In Motion’s upbeat earnings triggered a second day of gains in the tech sector.
“News from the two tech bellwethers helps to ease recent concerns about problems in the financial industry spreading to other areas of the economy like technology spending,” said Frederic Ruffy, an analyst at Optionetics.
Hitting new highs for the week, the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 205.01 points, or 1.6 percent, to 13,450.65, with the blue-chip index tallying a weekly advance of 0.8 percent.
Of the Dow’s components, all 30 ended higher, led by AT&T Inc., which gained 3 percent.
The S&P 500 rose 24.34 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1,484.46, with the S&P rising 1.1 percent on the week, while the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite gained 51.13 points, or 1.9 percent, to end at 2,691.99, giving it a weekly gain of 2.1 percent.
Rallying on results, Blackberry maker Research In Motion rose 10.9 percent after it reported third-quarter earnings that more than doubled amid strong demand for its products.
Embattled financial stocks drew support from a Wall Street Journal report that investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. might be the recipient of a capital infusion from Temasek Holdings of Singapore.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange surpassed 2.3 billion, and advancing stocks topped those declining nearly 3 to 1.
On the Nasdaq, more than 2.5 billion shares traded, and advancers beat decliners more than 2 to 1.
The government offered mixed news before the bell, with the Commerce Department reporting that U.S. personal spending rose 1.1 percent in November, while the core inflation rate increased 0.2 percent for the month.
“Consumers found their way to the checkout aisles even though their incomes failed to keep pace,” said Kevin Giddis, managing director, fixed income, Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc.
The Federal Reserve said it would continue to hold auctions of short-term funds as long as necessary to offset the credit crunch.
And a monthly survey released by Reuters and the University of Michigan found consumer sentiment revised higher to 75.5, from 74.5 earlier in the month.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude-oil futures gained $2.25, or 2.5 percent, to end the session at $93.31 a barrel.
Other developments in the technology sector include a top executive departure from Cisco Systems Inc., with some analysts taken off-guard by word that Charles Giancarlo, Cisco’s chief development officer, is leaving the networking equipment maker.
