<p>The rating agency Standard & Poor's warned late Thursday to downgrade US triple-A credit ratings if the policy makers failed to reach a deal to raise the government's debt ceiling, which exerted downward pressures on the market.<br /><br />Friday's data came in mixed, providing little boost to the market. The Labour Department said Friday that the CPI (consumer price index) fell 0.2 percent because of a decline in gas prices.<br /><br />A separate report showed US consumer sentiment slipped in July to its lowest level since March 2009.<br /><br />However, traders were still encouraged by better-than-expected corporate earnings.<br />Citigroup reported that its net income rose 24 percent in the second quarter to $3.3 billion, or 1.09 cents per share, on revenues of $20.6 billion, beating Wall Street forecast.<br /><br />Google surged about 13 percent after the search giant beat the most bullish forecasts late Thursday, making driving the tech- heavy Nasdaq prominently higher in three major indexes.<br /><br />The Dow Jones industrial average gained 42.61 points, or 0.34 percent, to 12,479.73. The Standard & Poor' s 500 was up 7.27 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,316.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 27.13 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,789.80.</p>
<p>The rating agency Standard & Poor's warned late Thursday to downgrade US triple-A credit ratings if the policy makers failed to reach a deal to raise the government's debt ceiling, which exerted downward pressures on the market.<br /><br />Friday's data came in mixed, providing little boost to the market. The Labour Department said Friday that the CPI (consumer price index) fell 0.2 percent because of a decline in gas prices.<br /><br />A separate report showed US consumer sentiment slipped in July to its lowest level since March 2009.<br /><br />However, traders were still encouraged by better-than-expected corporate earnings.<br />Citigroup reported that its net income rose 24 percent in the second quarter to $3.3 billion, or 1.09 cents per share, on revenues of $20.6 billion, beating Wall Street forecast.<br /><br />Google surged about 13 percent after the search giant beat the most bullish forecasts late Thursday, making driving the tech- heavy Nasdaq prominently higher in three major indexes.<br /><br />The Dow Jones industrial average gained 42.61 points, or 0.34 percent, to 12,479.73. The Standard & Poor' s 500 was up 7.27 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,316.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 27.13 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,789.80.</p>