Earnings, banks lift Wall St; Nasdaq up for 7th week

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rallied on Friday as earnings showed companies have weathered the recession and economic data raised hopes the economic cycle may have hit a bottom.
Investors were also undeterred by a government release of a much anticipated concept paper on stress tests for the 19 biggest U.S. financial services companies.
American Express (AXP.N) gave the most fuel to the Dow's rise, shooting up nearly 21 percent to $25.30 a day after reporting results that topped analysts' expectations, helped by aggressive cost cutting.
Ford Motor Co (F.N) also posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss and said it was on track to at least break even in 2011 and did not expect to seek U.S. government loans, sending its shares up 11.4 percent to $5.
Economic data also fed the buying frenzy after durable goods orders slipped in March, but fell far less than Wall Street expected. Sales of new single-family homes dropped, but inventories plummeted at a record pace.