Markets: Stocks ends higher despite slowing US growth

Stocks on Wall Street rose as solid quarterly results overshadowed data on slowing economic growth.

Amazon soared 18% after reporting first-quarter revenue jumped 34% and Expedia rose 23% to hit an all-time high. On the economic front, US GDP expanded at an annualised rate of 2.2% in the first quarter, down from 3% at the end of 2011.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 23.69 points, or 0.2%, to 13,228.31, pushing it into positive territory for the month.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to 1403.36. Both rose for the fourth session in a row and recorded the biggest weekly gains for each since March 16. The Dow rose 1.5% this week, while the S&P 500 climbed 1.8%.

The Nasdaq Composite added 0.6% to 3069.20 and was up 2.3% this week, its biggest weekly rise in nearly three months. On Monday, if prices hold or rise further, April could finish with the seventh straight monthly advance, the longest streak in five years.

Other markets: Europe up, Asia mixed
Most European stock markets closed with weekly gains. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.8%, to 259.12, gaining for a fourth consecutive day. The index posted a 0.5% weekly gain. The French CAC-40 index gained 1.1%, to 3266.27, and rose 2.4% on the week, snapping a five-week losing streak.

The German DAX index gained 0.9%, to 6801.32, rising 0.8% for the week. The UK's FTSE 100 index closed up 0.5%, at 5777.11, edging up 0.1% on the week. Both indexes rose for the second consecutive week.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.4% to finish at 9520.89. The index fell 0.4% on the week and has declined for four consecutive weeks.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.3%, to 20,741.45, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.4%, to 2396.32. Both indexes declined on the week, snapping three-week winning streaks.

Korea's Kospi held on to gains, adding 0.6%, to 1975.35, after record results from Samsung Electronics. It was the Kospi’s first weekly gain in three weeks.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.3% to 4362.10, its first weekly loss in three weeks.

Commodities: Oil up
Crude futures settled up 1.2%. Light, sweet crude for May delivery in New York settled up $US1.27 at $US104.20 a barrel, the highest price since April 2. ICE North Sea Brent settled 10USc higher at $US118.78 a barrel.

Currencies: US dollar falls
Disappointing first-quarter economic growth in the US and a lack of surprises from the Bank of Japan sent the USdollar tumbling. The euro rose to $US1.3253 from $US1.3224 late on Thursday. The dollar fell to ¥80.27 from ¥80.99 late Thursday. The euro also dropped against the yen, falling to ¥106.37 from ¥107.10. The UK pound rose to $US1.6266 from $US1.6187 late on Thursday. The dollar was at 0.9065 Swiss franc from 0.9087 franc.