NEW YORK — U.S. blue-chip stocks climbed Friday as encouraging earnings from General Electric Co. boosted industrial stocks, overshadowing disappointing corporate reports from Bank of America Corp. and some others.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 49.04 points, or 0.4 percent, to 11,871.84.

Additional Photos

General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt strides to the stage Friday at the GE plant in Schenectady, N.Y., to introduce President Obama. Obama announced a restructured presidential board to be led by Immelt that focuses on increasing employment and competitiveness. GE’s fourth-quarter profit climbed 51 percent, and revenue also beat analysts’ expectations. The Associated Press

GE led the measure, soaring 7.1 percent for its best day since March 2009. The conglomerate’s fourth-quarter profit jumped 51 percent and revenue also beat Wall Street’s estimates with a pickup in orders for big-ticket equipment and services.

The Nasdaq composite fell 14.75, or 0.6 percent, to 2,689.54. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose 3.09, or 0.2 percent, to 1,283.35, led by industrials.

For the week, the Dow ended up 0.7 percent, its eighth straight week of gains. The S&P 500 lost 0.8 percent, breaking a seven-week win streak. The Nasdaq composite dropped 2.4 percent, its first down week in three.

A round of largely encouraging earnings reports late Thursday and early Friday boosted market sentiment.

“GE’s earnings were phenomenal,” said Dick Del Bello, senior partner at Conifer Group, especially given the breadth of the company’s business, which showed improvement across the board. “The industrials are where we have a chance for jobs and manufacturing in the U.S., so GE earnings in particular have a very positive effect not only on the market, but also on people’s outlook for the economy.”

Even a small group of earnings disappointments were not enough to undermine the market’s earnings-fueled giddiness.

Bank of America shares fell 2 percent after a surprise fourth-quarter loss, weighed upon by charges from pre-announced settlements and write-downs related to mortgage problems. But other banks’ shares rose.

“Nobody who’s paying attention would expect the old Countrywide portion of Bank of America to have any positive information to present, and that’s where the problems really are,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner of Harris Financial Group.

Regional banks led the S&P 500’s financial stocks higher. SunTrust Banks Inc. surged 5.9 percent after the company swung to a fourth-quarter profit, thanks to sharply lower loan-loss provisions, and earnings and revenue beat analysts’ forecasts.

Shares of BB&T Corp., focused on the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, climbed 4.8 percent after its fourth-quarter earnings rose 12 percent, topping analysts’ estimates. The company set aside less to cover credit losses.

Technology stocks were weaker, led lower by Advanced Micro Devices Inc., whose shares fell 6 percent after the semiconductor company reported flat revenue for the fourth quarter and declined to update its search for a new chief executive.

Meanwhile, concerns over the eurozone’s health eased as German business sentiment soared to an all-time high. The dollar weakened against both the euro and the yen.

Demand for Treasurys rose, pushing down the yield on the 10-year note.

Among stocks in focus, Google Inc.’s fourth-quarter earnings jumped 29 percent and beat estimates, but shares fell 2.4 percent following a surprise management reshuffle. The company said co-founder Larry Page would succeed Eric Schmidt as chief executive, with Schmidt assuming the role of chairman.

Hewlett-Packard Co. shares rose 1 percent after the company said late Thursday it was replacing four board members and adding a fifth, part of sweeping changes that come less than six months after the exit of former CEO Mark Hurd. Among the new appointees was Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay Inc.

Shares in Warner Music Group Corp. jumped 27 percent after The Wall Street Journal reported the company has enlisted Goldman Sachs to seek buyers for part or all of its business, citing people familiar with the matter.

Related Stories