U.S. stocks closed higher Friday due to upbeat corporate results that outweighed a weaker-than-expected report on first-quarter economic growth. In international economic news, S&P announced after the closing bell Thursday that it was downgrading Spain's credit rating from "A" to "BBB+" because of numerous drags on growth and an ailing banking sector. On Friday, the Spanish government said that unemployment rose to 24.4 percent in the first quarter. In U.S. economic news, the government reported that first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an annual rate of 2.2 percent. The report was weaker than expected, as economists surveyed by CNNMoney forecasted that GDP grew at a 2.5 percent rate in the first quarter, down from 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. Also, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index inched up to 76.4 in April, which was roughly in line with estimates. The dollar fell against the euro, the yen, and the pound. Light sweet crude oil for June delivery increased 38 cents to $104.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures rose $4.30 to $1,664.80 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 23.69, or 0.18 percent, to 13,228.31. Procter & Gamble was the biggest drag on the Dow after the company lowered its outlook for full-year earnings. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.38, or 0.24 percent, to 1,403.36. As of Thursday, 300 companies in the S&P 500 had reported earnings, and 70 percent of them beat estimates. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index increased 18.59, or 0.61 percent, to 3,069.20. Both Expedia and Amazon performed well after reporting strong earnings.
