Stock market has biggest weekly gains in nearly two years

NEW YORK, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. stock market ended on a high note Friday with both the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite having their biggest weekly gains since 2013.

The S&P 500 increased 0.7 percent to 1,964.57, the Nasdaq also gained 0.7 percent to 4483.72 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.8 percent to 16,805.41.

"It's been a relief to the market this week to see strong earnings," portfolio manager Peter Stournaras told the Wall Street Journal. "With valuations where we are, we need earnings growth to propel the market."

The increases were helped along with big gains by Procter & Gamble, Co., which added 2.3 percent after announcing it would exit its Duracell battery business. Microsoft also gained by 2.5 percent and SodaStream International gained 15 percent after news the soda maker was considering testing PepsiCo brands.

"Earnings have been very good," Mark Spellman, a portfolio manager, told Bloomberg. "A large part of this market rise since the decline has been on the idea the Fed will be here to protect you."

Things weren't looking quite as positive for Amazon.com, which lost 8.3 percent after announcing its biggest quarterly net loss in more than a decade.