Encouraging economic indicators sent US stocks higher yesterday, but the market's recent struggles are set to continue into next week when more than one-fifth of S&P 500 companies report results.The S&P 500 fell for a second straight week, and some in the market pointed to strong resistance building around 1,340. The daily chart shows a bearish double top near that level.In another worrisome sign, investors again favoured defensive stocks, which tend to do better in times of waning growth. Utilities and healthcare were the S&P 500's top-performing sectors.
Disappointing results from Google and Infosys weighed on technology shares, while financials were pressured by Bank of America's results."Even while some of the earnings data wasn't exactly what the market hoped for, the macro economic data was actually pretty good this morning," said Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation at ING in New York.The Dow Jones industrial average gained 56.68 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 12,341.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 5.16 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 1,319.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 4.43 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 2,764.65.For the week, the Dow fell 0.3 per cent while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each lost 0.6 per cent. (Reuters)