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U.S. stocks move higher amid weak dollar, mixed earnings reports

Xinhua, March 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks traded higher Friday as investors digested a weak dollar and earnings reports.

At midday Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 187. 28 points, or 1.04 percent, to 18,146.31. The S&P 500 gained 19.48 points, or 0.93 percent, to 2,108.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 41.24 points, or 0.83 percent, to 5,033.08.

The U.S. dollar declined against most major currencies in the midday trading. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six other currencies, was down 0.98 percent at 98.285 around 12 p.m. EDT. The dollar bounced back Thursday after its biggest one-day slide since 2009 following the dovish Fed statement Wednesday.

The Fed dropped its promise to remain "patient" before raising interest rates in its statement on monetary policy Wednesday. " Just because we're not using the word 'patient' doesn't mean we're going to be impatient," said Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen in a press conference following the statement's release.

In corporate news, Tiffany reported its results before the opening bell for the "fourth quarter" ended Jan. 31 and showed its worldwide net sales were 1 percent below the prior year. Analysts think such fall in sales mainly was due to a stronger dollar and weak demand during the holiday season.

Shares of Nike, the world's largest sportswear maker, were up 3. 19 percent in the early session after it posted a better-than- expected quarterly profit. The company's diluted earnings per share for the quarter were up 19 percent due to higher revenues.

On the economic front, the year-ahead inflation expectations of businesses registered 1.7 percent in March, according to the latest business inflation expectations survey released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Friday. Endite