On The Fly: Stocks end week higher as earnings bolster market

Stocks ended the week higher as a steady stream of earnings continued to bolster market sentiment and as investors await results from the French presidential election this upcoming Sunday. MACRO NEWS: In the U.S., the Empire State manufacturing index dropped to 5.2 in April. The NAHB homebuilder sentiment index fell 3 points to 68 in April. Housing starts dropped 6.8% to a 1.215M rate in March. Industrial production rose 0.5% in March. Initial jobless claims rose 10,000 to 244,000 in the week ended April 15. The Philly Fed manufacturing index fell 10.8 points to 22.0 in April. The U.S. leading index rose 0.4% to 126.7 in March. Markit's manufacturing PMI dipped 0.5 points to 52.8 in the April flash reading. Existing home sales rebounded 4.4% to a 5.71M rate in March... In Fed news, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book that economic activity increased in each of the twelve Fed districts between mid-February and the end of March, with the pace of expansion equally split between modest and moderate. The Fed added that labor markets "remained tight" during this period and employers in most districts had "more difficulty filling low-skilled positions, although labor demand was stronger for higher skilled workers"... In Europe, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap general election to be held on June 8. April's Eurozone consumer confidence flash beat expectations, coming in at -3.6 points. Markit's flash Eurozone PMI manufacturing index for April strengthened to 56.8... In Asia, China's economy grew 6.9% in the first quarter from a year earlier. China's GDP in January-March rose 1.3% quarter on quarter from the previous three months. March industrial production grew 7.6% and retail sales rose 10.9%. Japan's Ministry of Finance reported a merchandise trade surplus for March. Exports rose at an annualized 12% in March, while imports rose 15.8%. Japan's manufacturing PMI rose to 52.8 in April on a seasonally adjusted basis... Additionally, the IMF boosted its 2017 estimate for global economic growth to 3.5% from 3.4%, attributing the upward revision to "buoyant" financial markets and a long awaited cyclical recovery in manufacturing and trade. COMPANY NEWS: On Tuesday, Facebook (FB) shares were in focus after it featured many of its upcoming augmented reality capabilities and premiered the next version of its Messenger app at its F8 conference. However, the event was marred by news that Steve Stephens, the man who on Sunday morning posted a video of himself shooting and killing an elderly man, committed suicide after being confronted by police in Pennsylvania... Arconic (ARNC) announced that Klaus Kleinfeld has stepped down as Chair and CEO and has resigned as a Board member. This comes after the Board learned that Kleinfeld had sent a letter directly to a senior officer of Elliott Management that the board determined "showed poor judgment." In response, Elliott said that the letter "read as a threat" to intimidate or extort a senior officer of Elliott based on "completely false insinuations"... 21st Century Fox (FOX) confirmed that Bill O'Reilly will not return to Fox News "after a thorough and careful review" of the allegations surrounding the longtime host of "The O'Reilly Factor"... The Food and Drug Administration rejected Incyte (INCY) and mega-cap partner Eli Lilly's (LLY) application for rheumatoid arthritis therapy baricitinib in its current form, due to safety concerns... In M&A news, Straight Path Communications (STRP) said that an unnamed party, later named by Reuters as Verizon (VZ), could look to beat AT&T's (T) takeover offer for the company. Alere (ALR) and Abbott (ABT) announced an amended merger deal that will see Abbott pay $51 per share to acquire the diagnostics specialist, putting an end to their fight over the prior terms of their merger agreement. Alibaba's (BABA) affiliate Ant Financial Services Group raised its offer to acquire Moneygram International (MGI) to $18 per share in cash. Cabela's (CAB) announced a deal under which Synovus Bank (SNV) would acquire certain assets and assume certain liabilities of Cabela's unit World's Foremost Bank. Cardinal Health (CAH) announced that it will acquire a patient product portfolio from Medtronic (MDT) for $6.1B. Virtu Financial (VIRT) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire KCG Holdings (KCG) for $20.00 per share, or approximately $1.4B equity value... Among companies that announced quarterly results this week, American Express (AXP), Qualcomm (QCOM), CSX (CSX), Honeywell (HON), Visa (V), GNC Holdings (GNC), Morgan Stanley (MS), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Hawaiian Holdings (HA), Rockwell Collins (COL), and Proofpoint (PFPT) advanced following their reports, while IBM (IBM), Verizon, Travelers (TRV), Goldman Sachs (GS), Bank of America (BAC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Netflix (NFLX), Barracuda Networks (CUDA), Interactive Brokers (IBKR), eBay (EBAY), Philip Morris (PM), General Electric (GE), and Mattel (MAT) declined. INDEXES: For the week, the Dow rose 0.48% to 20,547.76, the Nasdaq advanced 1.8% to 5,910.52, and the S&P 500 gained 0.88% to 2,348.69.