By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks ended the week with the
best gains this year, sending the Nasdaq Composite to the highest
level since July 2000.
Investors shrugged off a surprise drop in industrial production
data and focused on a mildly better-than-expected consumer
sentiment gauge and earnings reports.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) closed 8.80 points, or 0.5%, higher
at 1,838.63 and gained 2.3% over the week. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJI) closed 126.80 points, or 0.8%, higher at 16,154.39
and recorded a 2.3% weekly gain. All but three Dow members gained
on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose for the seventh
consecutive session after a volatile start, adding 3.35 points, or
0.1%, to 4,244.03. The tech-heavy index gained 2.9% over the week.
Read the recap of our stock market live blog.
Economic data on Friday was mixed. Earlier, a surprise drop in
industrial production in January, with the cold weather knocking
manufacturing and mining output, dampened the mood.
However, consumer sentiment was unchanged in February, with a
preliminary reading slightly above consensus expectations,
according to reports from the University of Michigan and Thomson
Reuters.
"The big question surrounding U.S. equity markets at the moment
is the true strength of the domestic economy," wrote Nicholas
Colas, chief market strategist at ConvergEx Group, a global
brokerage company based in New York.
"The half-empty-glass crowd feels the answer is somewhere around
1.5% GDP growth. Half-full adherents say it is closer to 3%.
Something called 'Winter' seems to be getting in the way of a clear
read at the moment, even if seasonal vagaries are as much a part of
February as last minute calls to the florist," Colas said.
In the corporate space, Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) shares
advanced 5.8% after the firm said late Thursday it appointed a new
CEO and beat earnings estimates. Cliffs Natural announced that Gary
Halverson will lead the firm a day after activist investor
Casablanca Capital LP put forward a different candidate.
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) shares rallied 5% after the company's
quarterly earnings topped expectations.
Trulia (TRLA) tumbled 18% after the online real-estate listing
site reported Thursday its fourth-quarter loss widened, while
adjusted earnings per share missed analysts forecasts. Shares of
Zillow Inc. (ZILLOW.XX), another online real-estate listing
service, fell 10% and triggered Nasdaq's short-sale circuit breaker
at about 2 p.m.
Weight Watchers International Inc. (WTW) slumped 28%. The
company on Thursday reported fourth-quarter earnings of 54 cents a
share and forecast 2014 earnings of $1.30 a share to $1.60 a share,
sharply lower than analysts' estimate of $2.72 a share.
Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) was down 8% after reporting its
earnings late Thursday. The diversified testing-equipment company
said its first-quarter earnings rose, but the company's profit
forecast was short of analyst expectations.
VF Corp. (VFC) slid 5.1% after its earnings results came in
below expectations.
In other financial markets, European stocks close higher after
economic-growth data for the euro zone showed a pickup in pace.
Gross domestic product for the currency union advanced 0.3%
quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of last year, with
Italy ending its two-year recession.
Asia markets closed mostly higher. The dollar dropped against
most major currencies, while most metals prices rose and oil prices
fell.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
When it comes to stocks, play follow the leader
Why your stocks will likely fall on Valentine's Day
3 things the Fed can't explain
You're invited to ... Bitcoin: Boom and Bust
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires