Nasdaq opens at all-time high as Google Inc surges on earnings beat

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 47 points, or 0.3 percent, at 18,097 as of 9:54 a.m. ET.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, also surged up 7.4% to an annual rate of 1.343 million in June from the revised May rate of 1.125 million.

On Wall Street, Tollbooth Strategy Index jumped 1.1% or 125.81 to 11,016.73.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,159 to 942; on theNasdaq, 1,852 issues rose and 945 fell.

The index was posting five new 52-week highs and 18 new lows.

The Nasdaq Composite Index extended its all-time high after Google Inc. jumped on better-than-estimated earnings, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was little changed as energy shares fell with oil. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average weren’t as lucky, gaining 0.1% and falling 0.19%, respectively, as energy stocks turned on the pressure. Exxon, down 0.7 per cent, and Chevron, down 1.5 per cent, were the biggest drag on the sector and also weighed on the broader market.

The S&P 500 scored its biggest weekly gain in four months, adding 2.4%.

The strong report rubbed off on Facebook, expected to report next week.

EBay rose 3.39 percent to a record high of $65.59 after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profit and announcing the sale of its enterprise business.

“It just proves the USA market continues to be resilient in the face of what seems like an endless list of global worries”, said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The firm acknowledged Google’s growth and “very strong balance sheet” that could be used for buybacks and dividends, but said it there were “ongoing legal and regulatory risks” for potential for market share losses, Scott Kessler, equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ, said in a research note Friday. The index touched a record intraday high of 5,197.61.

The S&P 500 gained 2.35 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,126.64.

The aerospace giant said the charge would amount to 77c per share, and that it would have to adjust downward its earnings outlook for the full year. After three weeks of declines, the index posted its first weekly gain of 2.4%.

The Nasdaq Internet Index was on track for its best weekly climb since December 2011, with Google and Netflix each rising more than 18 percent during the period.

Despite early, upbeat results this week, USA companies are expected to post their worst sales decline in almost six years in the second quarter, in part due to the strong dollar.

Newmont Mining slumped 3.2 per cent to a six-month low, while Barrick Gold slid 4.9 per cent to a more than 24-year low as gold dropped to the lowest since 2010.