Concern about the U.S. government's ability to avoid a default boosted gold for a 10th straight day on Friday and put pressure on stocks, even as strong corporate earnings stoked some gains. Fears over the outcome of debt talks fueled safe-haven buying, with U.S. government bond prices also rising. An acrimonious stalemate between President Barack Obama and Republicans deepened on Friday in their negotiations over a debt plan. "Everybody seems to be of the opinion that an agreement will be reached even if at the last moment," said Natalie Trunow, chief investment officer of equities of Calvert Investment Management in Bethesda, Maryland, which manages about $14.8 billion. The euro turned flat against the dollar as the results of European bank stress tests only slightly relieved anxiety over euro zone debt woes. Only eight of the 90 European banks surveyed by the European Banking Authority failed the stress tests, well below market expectations that as many as 15 lenders would need more capital to withstand a prolonged recession. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 26.64 points, or 0.21 percent, at 12,463.76. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 5.34 points, or 0.41 percent, at 1,314.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 22.06 points, or 0.80 percent, at 2,784.73. Google Inc's earnings beat the most bullish forecasts late on Thursday, driving its stock up 12.7 percent to $596.14, making it the top gainer in the Nasdaq 100. Energy and tech shares led the day's gains. The S&P energy sector index rose 1.9 percent, while the S&P info technology sector index gained 1.1 percent. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares ended down 0.2 percent, while the MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.1 percent. Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei average closed 0.4 percent higher. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,589.89 an ounce. It failed to hit a new peak after rallying to all-time highs in the previous two sessions, but stayed near the record of $1,594.16 hit on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 12/32, with the yield at 2.9095 percent.
