Promoting broad based, the financial stocks, U.S. stocks rose slightly on Friday midday. China's consumer confidence index fell and the austerity of the news again as investors worried. Industrial output and business sales better than expected, to a certain extent, boost market sentiment.
At 12:05 on Jan. 14 EST, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.16 points to 11,755.06 points, or 0.20%; the Nasdaq composite index rose 7.93 points to 2,743.22 points, or 0.29%; the S & P 500 Index rose 4.03 points to 1,287.79 points, or 0.31%.
Dow component Intel (INTC) fell 1.1%. The company late Thursday reported that strong demand for server substandard goods, the fourth-quarter profit surged 48%. But in view of the PC market weakness, some analysts fear Intel's ability to maintain strong growth performance.
Banking giant JP Morgan Chase (JPM) rose 1.3%. The company announced fourth-quarter profit rose 47%, exceeding analyst expectations, and expected future revenue growth, loan loss reserves substantially reduced.