Dow Climbs, But Apple Weighs on Nasdaq

FOX Business: The Power the Prosper 

The Dow held on to solid gains, with Microsoft paving the way higher, but slumping shares of Apple knocked the Nasdaq into the red.

Today's Markets 

As of 3:37 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 77.3 points, or 0.59%, to 13041, the S&P 500 gained 3.2 points, or 0.23%, to 1380 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 3.6 points, or 0.12%, to 3004.

The utility, industrial and consumer staple sectors performed the best on the day. However, several financial stocks took heavy losses. Indeed, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) fell close to 5% at the lows of the session, while Citigroup (NYSE:C) fell 2.5%.

The Nasdaq fell as shares of heavyweight Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) tumbled. Indeed, the iPad-maker is officially in correction territory, having fallen 10% from its record high.

On the earnings front, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted quarterly results that beat on the top and bottom lines, as the technology bellwether saw gains across all but one of its business divisions. General Electric (NYSE:GE), the blue-chip conglomerate, and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), the world's biggest oilfield servicing company, also saw their profit and revenue top forecasts.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) profit came in-line with expectations,while its revenue came slightly ahead.

Strong German Data Outweighs Ongoing Spain Worries

The Ifo Institute's closely-watched gauge of German business sentiment rose slightly in April, compared to expectations of a drop. Germany is Europe's biggest economy, and there have been worries among economists that it may suffer as some of its embattled trader partners see their economies contract.

"Today’s release suggests that German economic conditions remain buoyant, mainly reflecting robust domestic demand," analysts at Nomura wrote in a research note.

Still, the Spanish debt situation remained a big concern around European trading desks. The yield on Spain's 10-year note rose above the painful 6% level before receding somewhat, according to a report by Reuters. Additionally, the cost to insure against a Spanish and Italian default jumped, Markit, a London-based firm that keeps track of credit default swap spreads said on Friday.

There are no major economic reports on tap for the day.

Commodities markets were mostly higher. Crude oil traded in New York rallied $1.74, or 1.7%, to $104.01 a barrel. Wholesale RBOB gasoline gained a penny, or 0.45%, to $3.17 a gallon.

In metals, gold climbed $2.70, or 0.16%, to $1,644.

Foreign Markets 

European blue chips rallied 1.2%, the English FTSE 100 gained 0.48% to 5772 and the German DAX jumped 1.2% to 6750.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 fell 0.28% to 9561 and the Chinese Hang Seng edged higher by 0.07% to 21011.