Friday, April 24, 2009

Investors set aside some of their worries about banks and the economy Friday after the government unveiled its methods for testing the health of banks.

The report was light on details, but didn't bring any bad news. That cleared the way for a gain in stocks that left the Dow Jones industrial average down slightly for the week.

Investors were pleased about quarterly results from Ford Motor Co., American Express Co. and Microsoft Corp.

The Dow rose 119 points, or 1.5%, to 8,076. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14, or 1.7%, to 866. The Nasdaq composite index rose 42, or 2.6%, to 1,694.

The Dow and the S&P 500 broke their six-week winning streak, but the Nasdaq extended its string of weekly gains to seven.