The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed Friday as strong earnings results from some of the biggest banks and companies kicked off earnings season.

The 30-stock Dow added 113.89 points, or 0.33%, to close at 34,509.03 and mark its fifth consecutive day of gains. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 dropped 0.10% to close at 4,505.42. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.18%, ending at 14,113.70. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq touched their highest intraday levels since April 2022.

On a weekly basis, the Dow notched its best performance since March, up 2.3%. The S&P 500 added 2.4%, and the Nasdaq gained 3.3%.

UnitedHealth shares lifted the blue-chip index Friday as its top performer. The insurance giant jumped more than 7% after it reported better-than-expected adjusted earnings and revenue. The company also raised the lower end of its full-year adjusted earnings guidance. UnitedHealth was also the biggest gainer in the S&P 500's health-care sector, which advanced 1.5%.

JPMorgan Chase rose 0.6% after its second-quarter earnings topped expectations. The bank was boosted by higher interest rates and rising interest income. Wells Fargo inched down 0.3%, even though the bank posted better-than-expected results.

"What we've seen out of big bank earnings, especially JPMorgan, is pretty resilient," said Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments.

"We're seeing right now [that] default rates are still historically incredibly low and not showing signs of skyrocketing higher. So that's a good sign for consumers and the economy," Ladner added.

Expectations for this season are downbeat, with analysts forecasting a roughly 7% year-over-year drop in S&P 500 earnings, according to FactSet. That would mark the worst earnings season since the second quarter of 2020, when S&P 500 profits dropped 31.6%.

Investors' sentiment has been lifted by soft inflation reports this week. The latest producer price index report showed inflation rose less than anticipated and built on trader optimism from the June consumer price index data, which came out Wednesday. Investors are now considering whether a strong economy illustrated by the recent data could push stocks higher by the end of the year.

"The Goldilocks scenario is alive and well, in terms of declining inflation pressures and [there's] still fairly robust economic growth. So it's a pretty good backdrop for risk assets," said Ladner.

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Dow closes higher Friday, with major averages up for the week

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Friday's trading session in the green. The 30-stock index added 113.89 points, or 0.33%.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1% and 0.18%, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim

Global headline inflation appears to have peaked, says IMF

Among the Group of 20 nations, headline inflation seems to have peaked, according to the International Monetary Fund. However, in most of the G20 countries, particularly the advanced economies, core inflation remains well above central banks' targets.

"In the fight against inflation there are some early signs of monetary policy transmitting to activity, with bank lending standards tightening in the euro area and the United States. That said, policymakers should avoid 'premature celebrations': lessons from previous inflationary episodes show that easing policy too early can undo progress on inflation," IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva wrote in a Friday note.

The IMF forecasts global growth over the medium-term to fall around 3%, lower than the historical average of 3.8% over 2000 to 2019.

— Hakyung Kim

U.S. investor sentiment on Europe is 'very bearish,' says Barclays

The "apparent cheapness" of European equities is not enough to turn the bearish outlook from U.S. investors, Barclays said in a Friday note.

"Consistent with the flows data we track, most US clients. ... have cut exposure to Europe, on the view that the region is the most vulnerable to CB-induced recession, will lose from a weaker for longer China and has missed the AI train," wrote Emmanuel Cau. "Poor liquidity was another concern, which prompts clients to own concentrated positions in a few quality/growth/internationally geared mega cap EU stocks."

Cau noted that outlook for the U.K. was even worse than for the continent, with many clients viewing the country as a "value trap."

"The apparent cheapness of European equities does not make up for the perceived lack of structural growth opportunities in the region, and appetite for Value appears to be gone for good. Overall, our impression is that we may be close to peak pessimism on Europe," said Cau.

— Hakyung Kim

Wells Fargo sees further upside for Spotify

Spotify appears to be still growing subscribers while cutting costs, which creates significant upside for the stock, according to Wells Fargo.

Analyst Steven Cahill hiked his price target on Spotify to $250 per share from $180. The new target is more than 40% above where the stock closed on Thursday.

"We dig deeper into the SPOT thesis and emerge even more bullish. [Monthly active user] growth, market share, cost cuts and margin drivers are starting to fire on all cylinders," Cahill wrote in a note to clients.

Shares of Spotify were up less than 1% on Friday. The stock has already doubled this year.

—Jesse Pound

Oil consumption could turn positive again, according to Globalt Invesments

Energy stocks haven't been able to sustain their momentum from 2022 into this year — but Globalt Investment senior portfolio manager Thomas Martin thinks the trend could soon reverse.

"It was a lot of concern about demand, whether it was related to China and their recovery not being as strong as people had thought it was going to be, and then also the chances for a recession here in the US. And as as those have been kind of incorporated into the market," Martin said.

But with oil prices rising, energy stocks have recently shown "a little bit of life," he added.

"To the extent that that that continues, and we do get a soft landing or a no landing you know, the the next move for estimates for oil consumption could be back in the positive direction. That's why I think you're seeing some of some of that [this week]," Martin added.

— Hakyung Kim

Energy sector dips more than 2% Friday

Energy was the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500 on Friday. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund declined 2.7% as of Friday afternoon.

Nonetheless, the energy ETF is still positive 5.7% for the week and on track to close as the broad market index's largest-gainer week to date. Materials posted the second-largest gains this week, with the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund up 4% week to date.

— Hakyung Kim

More than a third of Friday's new 52-week highs in S&P 500 are all-time records

More than one third of the 32 stocks making new 52-week highs in the S&P 500 Friday are also trading at all-time records. Three of the 32 (JPM, V, CRM) are also in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Three of the all-time highs are homebuilders. And then there's Nvidia, of course:

• Netflix, trading at highest since Feb. 2022
• Booking Holdings, trading at record high back to 1999 IPO
• D.R. Horton, all-time high back to 1992 IPO
• Lennar, all-time high back to start of trading in 1971
• PulteGroup, trading at all-time high back to its IPO in 1972
• CBOE Holdings, all-time high back to 2010 IPO ‎
• Intercontinental Exchange, highest since April 2022
• JPMorgan (JPM), highest since Feb. 2022
• Moody's, highest since Feb. 2022
• S&P Global, highest since April 2022
• Visa, highest since August 2021
• Align Technology, highest since April 2022
• Cooper Companies, highest since April 2022
• DexCom, highest since Dec. 2021
• IDEXX Laboratories, highest since April 2022
• Intuitive Surgical, highest since Jan. 2022
• Steris, highest since June 2022
• Copart, all-time high back to 1994 IPO
• Masco, highest since Feb. 2022
• Rollins Inc., highest since 1968 start of trading
• Adobe, highest since Feb. 2022
• Ansys, highest since Jan. 2022
• Cadence Design Systems, all-time since predecessor ECAD went public in 1987
• Salesforce.com, highest since Feb. 2022
• Fortinet, all-time high back to 2009 IPO
• Gartner, highest since Nov. 2021
• ServiceNow, highest since March 2022
• NVIDIA, all-time high since 1999 IPO
• ON Semiconductor, all-time high since 2000 IPO
• Teradyne, highest since April 2022
• Sherwin-Williams, highest since June 2022
• Equinix, highest since Jan. 2022

Meanwhile, just five stocks fell to 52-week lows in the S&P 500 Friday, none of them records, although AT&T touched a 20-year low:

• AT&T, lowest since March 2003
• Conagra Brands, lowest since June 2022
• Allstate, lowest since Nov. 2020
• Bristol-Myers Squibb, lowest since Jan. 2022

— Scott Schnipper, Christopher Hayes

Near-term upside in equities could be limited on high valuations and stronger sentiment, UBS says

UBS says the second-quarter earnings season could be lackluster.

"Based on our expectations for earnings beats, we look for a 3–5% year-over-year decline in S&P 500 EPS, which could be the trough for the earnings 'recession,'" UBS head of U.S. equities David Lefkowitz wrote in a July 11 note.

Meanwhile, Lefkowitz added that upside in the near term for equity markets could be limited due to higher valuations, stronger market sentiment meaning less money will "come off the sidelines," higher economic surprise indexes as well as weaker fundamentals and soft economic growth.

— Brian Evans

Small-caps are at 'the heart of the weakness,' says market technician

Although Wall Street is on pace for a positive week, the breadth is "awful," according to BTIG chief market technician Jonathan Krinsky.

"Another day, another rare divergence. There is no other way to spin it. NYSE breadth is awful so far, with the A/D line -1240 and 77% of NYSE volume in declining stocks," Krinsky wrote in a Friday note.

"Since we have data back to '08, we can find only one other day when NYSE downside volume was 75% or higher, and the SPX closed green. That was 8/19/21. That was actually a bottom after a four-day pullback, so not really relatable at all to the current set-up, more just a sign of how rare today's action is," he continued.

"Small-caps are at the heart of the weakness, down over 1%," Krinsky noted. He added that even if small-cap equities turn more bullish, they became extended in the near-term view.

"Ultimately these negative divergences will matter, and with the SPX above its upper Bollinger band (4512), we should be close to an inflection here even if it's only short-lived," Krinsky said.

— Hakyung Kim

Investors count on upward market momentum in the week ahead as earnings rain down

Stocks could continue to gain momentum in the week ahead as traders turn their attention to earnings results after the past week's softer inflation news. 

The major benchmarks are headed for a positive week Friday after encouraging consumer and wholesale inflation in June cemented the likelihood that the Federal Reserve is closer to the end of its rate-hiking campaign. Traders see a 95% certainty the Federal Reserve will hike at the central bank's July meeting, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. They're 81% sure the Fed will stand pat in September.

"I think the Fed is kind of locked in for another hike," said Sage Advisory's Rob Williams. "But given this inflation data, I think they're kind of one and done."  

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Sarah Min

U.S. may have seen 'a low in inflation,' Larry Fink says

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said Friday that inflation will likely prove to be sticky from here and remain above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, in part due to strong labor demand.

"I think we've seen a low in inflation, and I think inflation can be sticky between 3 and 4%. And if I'm write about the job creations and the need for labor and how that's going to elevate wages, we're going to be in a period of 3 to 4% inflation, which will translate into a Fed that I think is going to be reluctant to turn off their platform of raising rates," Fink said on "Squawk on the Street."

Fink also said that prices for energy, housing and used cars could start to rise again in the coming months.

— Jesse Pound

UnitedHealth, banks stocks among Friday's biggest movers

Here are some of the companies making the biggest moves during midday trading:

• JPMorgan Chase — Shares fell slightly even after the bank reported stronger-than-expected results for the second quarter, as it benefitted from higher interest rates and better-than-expected bong trading.
• UnitedHealth — The health care giant popped nearly 7% after topping expectations for the second quarter on both the top and bottom lines. UnitedHealth also upped the lower end of its full-year guidance.
• Citigroup — Shares of the New York-based lender fell 2% even after the firm reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped expectations. Despite the beat, Citi's revenue fell 1% from a year ago as the decline in markets and investment banking businesses weighed on its results.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Samantha Subin

Citi names its favorite A.I. software picks, including two 'unfairly categorized' losers

Even after a strong start to the year, Citi is placing its bets on a handful of software stocks poised to capitalize on generative artificial intelligence tailwinds.

CNBC Pro readers can read more on the Wall Street firm's top picks, including two names it views as wrongfully deemed AI losers.

— Samantha Subin

Microsoft 'too attractive' to stay neutral on, UBS says

The strong setup for Microsoft shares can't be overlooked, UBS said.

Analyst Karl Keirstead upgraded the technology stock to buy from neutral and raised his price target by $55 to $400. Keirstead's price target reflects the potential for an upside of 16.7%.

"We upgrade Microsoft shares to Buy from Neutral on evidence that Azure/AWS cloud infrastructure spend is beginning to stabilize after a significant deceleration over the past year," he said in a note to clients Thursday. "We believe this, coupled with near-term AI catalysts as well as the material underperformance in the stock since May 1st, make the set up too attractive to maintain a neutral view of the stock."

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Alex Harring

Morgan Stanley names Las Vegas Sands a top gaming stock

Las Vegas Sands is a good way to play the Macao reopening, Morgan Stanley said.

Analyst Stephen Grambling named the stock a top gaming pick. His $71 price target means he believes the stock could have an 18.1% upside from where it finished Thursday's session.

"We see it being the best way to play Macau and one of the final consumer recovery stories coming out of Covid," he said in a note to clients Friday.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about his thoughts on the stock here.

— Alex Harring

Wells Fargo gives up post-earnings gains

Shares of Wells Fargo have slumped into the red after jumping at the open. The stock rose as high as $45.31 in early trading on the heels of a beat on the top and bottom lines for the second quarter, but is now back below $44 per share.

— Jesse Pound

AT&T rebound could be restricted, JPMorgan says

Increased competition and lead cables could pour water on any comeback for AT&T shares after a recent bout of underperformance, according to JPMorgan.

Analyst Philip Cusick downgraded the telecommunication stock to neutral from overweight and lowered his price target by $5 to $17. However, his price target still implies shares could rally 12.4% in the next year.

"We worry that the repeated downward revisions for its key wireless and fiber growth businesses, the high interest rate environment, and new uncertainty regarding lead sheathed cables will limit any substantial rebound," he said in a note to clients Friday.

CNBC Pro subscribers can click here to read more.

— Alex Harring

Health care ETF poised to see best day in around a year

The iShares U.S. Health Care Providers ETF (IHF) is up more than 3%, putting it on pace for its best day in nearly a year.

The ETF was last up about 3.1%. If that performance holds, it will be the best session for the fund since July 15, 2022, when it finished 3.7% higher.

UnitedHealth led the index higher with a nearly 7% gain following a strong earnings report. Elevance Health followed, up more than 5%.

Friday's rally helped put the fund on track for a winning week. That marks a turn from last week, when it finished 2.8% lower.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

Homebuilders will struggle to extend gains from here, JPMorgan says

The remarkable run for homebuilder stocks is likely to stall out during this earnings season, according to JPMorgan.

The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF is up about 38% year to date, and JPMorgan analyst Michael Rehaut said in a note to clients that the good news for the sector is now priced in to the stocks.

"We expect the builders to largely hold on to their recent strong gains but not grind higher, as while strong 2Q results and further positive earnings revisions are likely, we believe this is already anticipated by investors and reflected in the stocks," the note said.

— Jesse Pound

Stock open higher Friday

U.S. stocks opened higher Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 150 points, or 0.4%.

The S&P 500 gained 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3%.

— Hakyung Kim

Bitcoin headed toward positive week

Bitcoin Coin Metrics is up 3.3% week to date, putting it on pace for its first positive week since the week ending June 23, when it jumped 17.1%.

Ether Coin Metrics is higher 7% this week, on track for its third positive week in four weeks and its best week since June 23, when it added 10.6%.

Coinbase jumped over 33% week to date and is headed for its fifth-straight weekly gains and week since March 17, when it surged 40.3%.

— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket

Check out some of the companies making headlines in premarket trading.

BlackRock -- Shares slipped roughly 1% after quarterly results. The investment firm reported an adjusted $9.28 per share and $4.46 billion in revenue while analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected $8.45 per share and $4.45 billion.

Coinbase -- Stock in the cryptocurrency exchange pulled back 1.2% in premarket trading. Shares of Coinbase are coming off of a strong rally a day earlier thanks to a ruling in a case concerning the cryptocurrency XRP. A judge in New York's Southern District said that the token may not classify as a security.

Plug Power -- The battery stock added nearly 6% after an upgrade to outperform from Northland Capital Markets.

Read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

Alcoa slides 2% following JPMorgan downgrade

Alcoa fell more than 2% in premarket trading Friday after JPMorgan downgraded shares, warning downward pressure on aluminum prices could be bad for the stock.

Analyst Bill Peterson downgraded the stock to neutral from overweight and slashed his price target to $36 from $54 ahead of its earnings report next week. Peterson's updated price target implies shares could slip 1.9% from where they finished Thursday.

"Ahead of 2Q results kicking off next week for Alcoa we update estimates with our revised aluminum price forecast to incorporate weaker near-term fundamentals including planned capacity restarts in China amid muted demand," he said in a note to clients Friday.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Alex Harring

JPMorgan Chase's second-quarter earnings top estimates

JPMorgan Chase announced second-quarter earnings Friday that topped Wall Street's expectations.

The company reported $4.37 adjust earnings per share and revenue of $42.4 billion. Analyst had estimated per-share earnings of $4 and $38.96 billion in revenue, according to Refinitiv.

The bank has outperformed its smaller peers this year. JPMorgan shares have gained 11% so far this year, compared with the 16% decline of the KBW Bank Index. The bank took over First Republic Bank in May.

Shares were up more than 2% Friday before the bell.

Read more about the results here.

— Hakyung Kim, Hugh Sohn

UnitedHealth pops on strong earnings

UnitedHealth shares rose more than 2% after the insurance giant reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue. The company earned $6.14 per share on revenue of $92.9 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected a profit of $5.99 per share on revenue of $91 billion.

UnitedHealth also raised the lower end of its full-year earnings guidance.

— Fred Imbert

Investors start to embrace 'goldilocks' scenario, Vital Knowledge says

Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge said in a note Friday that the "echoes of the Wednesday CPI are still reverberating throughout global markets as investor psychology gradually begins to shift, away from battling the macro ghosts of H1 (rampant inflation & a hard landing) and towards embracing the prospect of a brighter H2, one defined by 'goldilocks' data and continued corporate strength."

The major averages are headed for a solid week of gains, with the Dow up 1.9% and the S&P 500 climbing 2.5%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq is up 3.5%.

— Fred Imbert, Michael Bloom

International Monetary Fund says China's growth is slowing

The International Monetary Fund said that growth in China is slowing due to weaker private investment as well as slowing exports and reduced domestic demand.

The organization's spokesperson Julie Kozak said in a briefing, "Growth momentum has been slowing recently in China, largely due to weaker than expected private investment" pointing to a recent decline in exports after seeing strong performance in the first quarter of the year.

"The overall picture for growth in China is one of a slowing economy, and that is consistent with the forecast that we that we had in in April," noting an "updated forecast" for China will be reflected in IMF's next World Economic Outlook.

— Jihye Lee

Singapore avoids technical recession, grows 0.7% year-on-year

Singapore's economy avoided a technical recession in the second quarter, growing 0.7% year-on-year and 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, advanced estimates showed.

Economists polled by Reuters expected to see growth of 0.3% quarter-on-quarter and 0.6% year-on-year.

In the first quarter, Singapore's economy contracted by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis and saw marginal growth of 0.4% year-on-year.

— Jihye Lee

Australia appoints Michele Bullock as new central bank governor

Reserve Bank of Australia's deputy governor Michele Bullock has been appointed as the new central bank chief, the country's Treasury said Friday.

She succeeds incumbent Philip Lowe, whose term will end on September 17 — that brings a close to his 43 years at the bank. Treasurer Jim Chalmers described Bullock's appointment as "the optimal balance between providing exceptional experience & expertise and offering a fresh leadership perspective."

The @AlboMP Govt has appointed Michele Bullock as the next Reserve Bank Governor. Her appointment strikes the optimal balance between providing exceptional experience & expertise and offering a fresh leadership perspective #ausecon #auspol @RBAInfo pic.twitter.com/rCDIKZUAzl

— Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) July 13, 2023

Bullock's appointment would mean that the RBA will have a vacant deputy governor's post, which the government said that it will fill in the coming months.

— Lim Hui Jie

Communication services and energy the top sectors in the S&P 500 this week

The major averages are cruising toward weekly gains, with the S&P 500 on pace for a 2.5% pop.

All 11 of the sectors in the broad market index are in positive territory this week, but the communication services sector is the biggest winner, up 4%. Tech giants Alphabet and Meta were among the heavy hitters within the category, up 4.2% and 7.8% in the period, respectively.

Energy, which is still negative for the year, was also a standout this week with a 3.4% gain. Within the sector, APA is up 10.5% on the week and Schlumberger is up 7.6%.

-Darla Mercado

Coinbase shares rise after hours after Thursday rally

Crypto services firm Coinbase saw its shares rise 2% in extended trading, building on a nearly 25% in gain in regular trading Thursday.

The moves came after a judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that Ripple's XRP token is "not necessarily a security on its face" and gave investors hope that Coinbase could prevail in its own battle with the SEC.

The decision was widely seen as a key hurdle to clear in the second half of 2023 as crypto assets and stocks are still still contending with a challenging macroeconomic environment and have spent the past couple months under immense pressure from U.S. regulators, highlighted by lawsuits brought by the SEC against Coinbase and Binance in June.

For more on the Ripple decision and what it could mean for investors check out our full story here.

— Tanaya Macheel

Odds of Fed going another half point by yearend fall further Thursday

The market is saying there's even less chance of the Federal Reserve raising rates again after the July 26 policy meeting in the wake of Thursday's softer-than-expected June producer prices, which followed Wednesday's softer-than-expected June consumer prices.

The chance that fed funds will stand at 5.50%-5.75% by the end of the central bank's Sept. 20 meeting shrank to 11.1% Thursday from 13.2% Wednesday and 27.5% one week ago, according the CME's FedWatch tool, which tracks positions of interest rate traders. Odds on that second quarter-point move by the end of the Nov. 1 meeting dropped to 18.9% from 26.7% Wednesday and 40.2% a week ago.

Opinion is still nearly unanimous at 92.4% that the Fed will go again at its July meeting, pushing its benchmark rate to 5.25%-5.50% from today's 5.00%-5.25%.

— Scott Schnipper

Stock futures open slightly lower

Stock futures were slightly lower to begin trading Thursday night.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 fell 0.09%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures inched lower by 43 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.06%.

In regular trading the major averages climbed for their fourth consecutive trading day. The S&P 500 rose 0.85% to close at 4,510.04. The Dow added 47.71 points, or 0.14%, to close at 34,395.14. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.58% to end at 14,138.57.

— Tanaya Macheel