US stocks finished stronger on Friday as Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) and major home builders advanced on positive brokerage comments and investors bet that the economic recovery will be strong enough to sustain corporate profits.
The Dow Jones industrial average hit a fresh 11 month high – it was up 36 points to 9,820. The S&P500 Index added 3 points to 1,068 and the NASDAQ rose 6 points to 2,133.
In company news: Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) shares rose 3.22% to US$57.32, after Citigroup said that the maker of Tide detergent and Pampers is likely to win market share through an aggressive pricing strategy.
Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) shares gained 3.11% to US$22.20, as J.P. Morgan Securities upgraded the Home builder, and KB Home (NYSE:KBH), on the view that the housing sector will continue to recover over the next 24 months and drive the current rally in home builders' stocks.
Chevron (NYSE:CVX) shares inched 0.93% higher to US$72.64, as Credit Suisse upgraded Chevron on the basis that it looks better equipped that the other major oil companies to deliver growth "over the coming cycle to 2020.
And finally Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) shares fell 2.98% to US$14.01, a day after the company gave a tepid second-quarter sales forecast and said it plans to sell 16 million shares of common stock.
Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: Starbucks was the best performer, adding 3.39% to US$20.76, followed very closely by Cerner and First Solar. On the downside, Hologic slipped fell 3.06% to US$16.47, while Symantec and Citrix Systems also closed lower on Friday.
