Stocks Post A Third Week of Gains

U.S. stocks posted a third week of gains on Friday, with the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 tallying record closes following upbeat earnings from two major banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.38 points, or 0.02%, to 15,464.30, with Boeing
Co. (NYSE:BA) leading its losses. The S&P 500 index added 5.17 points, or 0.31%, to 1,680.19. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 21.78 points, or 0.61%, to 3,600.08.

An internal fire broke out on Friday on a Boeing 787 that Ethiopian Airlines had parked between flights at London’s Heathrow  Airport, the airport said. The plane was in a remote area, and no passengers were on board. But the airport temporarily
suspended arrivals and departures on its two runways while fire crews responded to the incident at 4:36 p.m. local time, several hours before the plane, named the Queen of Sheba, was scheduled to depart for Ethiopia.

Second-quarter earnings surged at two of the nation’s largest banks, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, as reduced loan losses more than offset the beginnings of a slowdown in mortgage lending provoked by rising interest rates.

Consumer confidence unexpectedly cooled in July as Americans became less optimistic about the outlook for the economy. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment decreased to 83.9 in July from 84.1 the month prior, today’s report showed.

US Airways Group Inc (LCC) shareholders approved the carrier’s plan to merge with AMR Corp’s (AAMRQ.PK) American Airlines, clearing another hurdle to the deal that would create the world’s largest carrier. Of nearly 132.8 million shares voted, 132.3
million were in favor of the merger, the company announced on Friday after its annual meeting in New York.