FROM MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD:

U.S. STOCK MARKETS

The Dow industrials rose after better-than-forecast quarterly reports from Microsoft and General Electric pushed blue chips to their first weekly gain this month, while Apple's slide helped lead the technology-oriented Nasdaq into the red.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65.16 points, or 0.5%, to 13029.26. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced 1.61 points, or 0.1%, to 1378.53. Both benchmarks snapped two-week losing streaks. The Dow climbed 1.4% during the week, while the S&P 500 added 0.6%.

Microsoft rallied 4.6% to $32.42 to lead the blue chips' advance after the software company reported fiscal third-quarter results late Thursday that exceeded both revenue and earnings expectations.

Fellow Dow component General Electric tacked on 1.2% to 19.36 after the conglomerate reported first-quarter results that topped forecasts. Earnings declined 12% but slightly beat Wall Street estimates, fueled by renewed profit growth in its energy-infrastructure division.

McDonald's advanced 0.7% to 95.94 after the fast-food chain's first-quarter earnings rose and sales increased slightly faster than expected. Technology stocks lagged behind.

The Nasdaq Composite gave early up gains and turned negative late Friday, falling 7.11 points, or 0.2%, to 3000.45, and extending declines into a third consecutive week. Apple, which represents 12% of the Nasdaq's weight, tumbled 2.5% to 572.98 and was down for a third straight session.

The stock remains up more than 40% this year, but this week's 5.3% tumble was the worst since October. The stock is down 12% since its intraday high hit on April 10. In other corporate news, SanDisk fell, the S&P 500's biggest decliner, after reporting late Thursday that first-quarter earnings sank 49% due to higher expenses and weaker revenue. SanDisk's downbeat second-quarter outlook impacted rival Micron, which fell 5.2% to 6.64.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS

European stock markets inched higher in a choppy market Friday, as banks rallied after a surprise rise in a German business-climate index, while BP led oil firms lower after a fresh oil spill claims audit. Commerzbank added 2.3% and Deutsche Bank rose 1.7% in Frankfurt.

In London, Lloyds Banking Group advanced 2.8% and Standard Chartered climbed 0.8%. In Paris, Societe Generale rose 3.5%, BNP Paribas gained 3.7%, and Credit Agricole added 2.3%.

BP dropped 1.2% after the U.S. Department of Justice said late Thursday that an independent claims audit found the oil group owes an additional $64 million in payments related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed up 0.5% at 257.79, after swinging between small gains and losses through most of the session. On a weekly basis, the index rose for the first time in five weeks, up 1.7%.

France's CAC 40 added 0.5% to 3188.58, and gained 0.02% for the week. Germany's DAX rose 1.2% to 6750.12, adding 2.5% for the week. The FTSE 100 climbed 0.5% to 5772.15, up 2.1% on the week.

Stocks were buoyed by a report that the Munich-based Ifo Institute's business confidence index unexpectedly rose to 109.9 in April. Mining companies tracked higher commodity prices. Rio Tinto added 1%, Anglo American rose 1.8% and Kazakhmys advanced 2.4%.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS

Asian stock markets ended mostly lower Friday as disappointing U.S. economic data depressed demand, but the Shanghai market rose to a one-month high, boosted by expectations of further policy easing.

Investors adopted a conservative approach after U.S. shares took a second straight day of losses Thursday, as jobless claims hovered around a four-month high and as Europe's debt woes cast a cloud over markets.

South Korea's Kospi led the region lower with a 1.3% loss, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.1%, India's Sensex declined 1.0% and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.2% to 2406.86, the highest since 2410.18 on March 19.

Overnight weakness in U.S. tech plays weighed on the Japanese technology sector. Toshiba dropped 2.4%, Advantest Corp. traded down 0.3%, and Fujitsu fell 2.5%.

The Korean market also felt the weight of tech-share losses, with semiconductor giant Samsung Electronics down 1.9%, LG Electronics off 1.5%, and SK Hynix 4% lower.

LG Chem tumbled 9.2% in Seoul after unveiling a much weaker-than-expected 42% drop in first-quarter net profit compared to the year-earlier period.

Elsewhere in the sector, Honam PetroChemical fell 8.3%. The Shanghai market outperformed the region after a senior government economist said China's economic growth may rebound in the third quarter of this year and that there is room to adjust the country's macroeconomic policy.

Financial firms strengthened on hopes of further policy easing and financial reforms. Industrial Bank was up 2.7%, China Merchants Bank rose 1.9% and China Minsheng Banking gained 1.6%.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange Friday, supported by stronger European equity markets after upbeat German sentiment data boosted investor confidence.

LME three-month copper closed up 1.8% at $8,190 a metric ton, while three-month zinc ended the session up 1.3% at $2,026/ton.

Crude-oil futures ended higher Friday, rising with stock markets and helped by a falling dollar, as improving economic data in Europe led to some hopes for strengthening energy demand.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled 78 cents, or 0.8%, higher at $103.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The May contract expired at settlement Friday and futures for June delivery settled $1.16 higher at $103.88 a barrel.

Brent crude for June delivery on the ICE futures exchange traded 55 cents higher at $118.64 a barrel.

Gold prices ticked higher Friday but fell 1% on the week on worries about demand for the metal amid signs of weaker-than-expected buying from top consumer India and uncertain investor appetite for the metal with the latest set of European debt woes.

The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, rose $1.40, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,642.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.