US Stocks Higher in Early Trade Friday 01/17 09:52

   U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading Friday as solid earnings from 
banks helped extend momentum from the previous day's rally.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading Friday as solid 
earnings from banks helped extend momentum from the previous day's rally.

   State Street and Citizens Financial were among the latest banks to report 
encouraging results in a week of solid reports from larger financial 
institutions. Investors were also digesting the latest government housing data 
which showed a December surge in new home construction.

   The latest bright sign on the economy follows Thursday's solid retail sales 
report, which revealed consumers are still spending at a healthy pace.

   Technology stocks also made big gains in the early going. Qualcomm rose 
3.9%. 

   Communications companies rose. Google parent company Alphabet climbed again, 
a day after becoming the latest tech giant to cross the $1 trillion valuation 
mark, joining Apple and Microsoft.

   Comcast rose 1.2% after NBCUniversal launched a new streaming service that 
will have a free component.

   Bond prices fell, pushing yields higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury 
rose to 1.84% from 1.8% late Thursday.

   Safe-play sectors, including utilities and real estate companies, lagged the 
market.

   Stocks are still trading around their latest record highs reached a day 
earlier and are on track for solid weekly gains. The two days of good economic 
news come on the heels of the U.S. and China signing an initial trade deal. 
Progress on trade has eased fears on Wall Street about the potential for the 
dispute to escalate further.

   KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index rose 0.2% as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 74 points, or 0.3%, to 29,348. The Nasdaq 
rose 0.2%. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks was flat. Markets 
in Europe and Asia rose.

   HEAVY ANCHOR: Gap fell 1.3% after the retailer cancelled plans to spin off 
its Old Navy brand, saying the move would be too costly. It also said the 
president and CEO of the Gap brand, Neil Fiske, is stepping down. 


(CZ)