Tech Companies Lead Stock Rally

Technology companies are leading a stock market rally on Wall Street Friday as investors applaud third-quarter reports from big names including Microsoft and Google's parent company Alphabet, the AP reports. Investors also cheered a report Friday that showed the US economy grew by a stronger than expected 3% in the third quarter. Microsoft rose 7.3% and Alphabet jumped 4.8%. Online retailer Amazon soared 13.6%. Traditional retailers plunged after department store JC Penney cut its forecasts. It fell 14.8% and Macy's lost 7.7%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 20 points or 0.8%, to 2,581. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 33 points, or 0.1%, to 23,434. The Nasdaq composite soared 144 points, or 2.2%, to 6,701. (More stock market stories.)