Afternoon Markets: Upbeat results hold Dow steady

Cheery results for a trio of US bluechip giants kept the Dow Jones in with a shout of posting positive gains for a fifth straight day on Friday.

In early trading, the index had changed little, slipping 11 points, or 0.1%, to 8,701.09. Software giant IBM has soared 2.7% after it reported Q2 profits 12% higher than the equivalent period last year. Bank of America was up 1% after saying its second-quarter income fell lower than expected (5.5%) due to higher merger charges and continued credit woes. General Electric also reported better-than-expected earnings, but it has slipped 4.5% lower to 11.84. In the UK, miners pulled the FTSE into positive territory late on Friday, the index climbing more than 46 points, or 1.07%, to ...