Fueled by strong earnings, the S&P 500 extended its seven-day rally and closed for the week above the 1,500-mark for the first time since 2009. The index rose 8.11 points or 0.54 percent to close at 1,502.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also up about half a percent at 13,895.83 and the Nasdaq was up 0.62 percent and closed at 3,149.71, marking the fourth consecutive week of gains for all three indexes. Procter & Gamble, Halliburton and Starbucks released earnings that topped expectations driving share prices up for all three companies. Procter & Gamble shares shot up 3.6 percent to $72.99, Starbucks rose 4.5 percent to $57.01 and Halliburton shares also climbed 5 percent to $39.69. Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in New Jersey noted that the market's ability to move forward despite disappointing profits from Apple was a positive sign. Economic data and positive news overseas also fueled the rally. New data showed that sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose in 2012 to the highest level in three years and European banks said they would be able to repay more of their debt than expected to the European Central Bank which lent bailout money during the height of the financial crisis.
