More earnings gains send US stocks higher
By Associated Press
Oct 24, 2014 11:01 AM CDT
FILE- In this Oct. 22, 2014, file photo, reporters take notes as Ebola coordinator Ron Klain listens to President Barack Obama speak to the media about the government’s Ebola response in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. New federal Ebola response squads are being readied to rus to an...   (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising in midday trading as U.S. companies report more earnings gains.

UPS and Microsoft rose after reporting earnings that were higher than analysts were expecting. Procter & Gamble rose after saying it would make its Duracell battery business a stand-alone company.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 84 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,762 as of 11:55 a.m. Eastern time Friday. The Dow jumped 216 points the day before.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose eight points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,959. The Nasdaq composite rose 17 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,470.

Crude oil fell 99 cents to $81.12 a barrel in New York.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.26 percent.