U.S. STOCKS, MARKETS

Stocks rose Friday, trimming the biggest weekly loss of the year for the Dow, as continued strength in defensive corners of the market offset a selloff in International Business Machines shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 10.37 points, or 0.1%, to 14547.51, closing near its highs after spending much of the day in negative territory.

IBM, which has the highest weighting on the Dow among the average's 30 components, plunged 8.3%, its biggest daily slide in eight years, after reporting bigger-than-expected declines in quarterly earnings and revenue. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced 13.64 points, or 0.9%, to 1555.25.

Telecommunications and consumer staples shares, defensive sectors that have outperformed year-to-date, led the index. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 39.69 points, or 1.3%, to 3206.06.

A disappointing reading on Chinese economic growth, a staggering selloff in gold and a lackluster start to corporate-earnings season contributed to a drop of more than 2% in the S&P 500 this past week.

Those shocks came as concern has mounted that stocks' rapid gains at the start of the year were setting the market up for a pullback.

Google climbed 4.4% after its quarterly earnings topped analysts' estimates, helped by strong revenue growth in its core advertising business. Microsoft rose 3.4% and was the biggest gainer among Dow components after reporting a 19% jump in quarterly earnings.

SeaWorld Entertainment jumped 24% after its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange priced at the high end of the range the company and its bankers expected. SeaWorld's exposure to a rebound in consumer spending and plans to pay a dividend drew buyers, according to traders and bankers familiar with the deal.

EUROPEAN STOCKS, BONDS

European stock markets were mostly higher Friday, with banks in the driving seat, as bargain hunters took advance of recent market slides to buy beaten-down stocks ahead of the weekend.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.5% to close at 285.21. The index, however, posted its biggest weekly drop since November, down 2.5%, following disappointing macro economic data from the U.S. and China, which stoked fears of a slowdown in the global recovery.

The International Monetary Fund lowered its global growth outlook to 3.3% in 2013. Growth outlooks for the U.S. and the euro area were also downgraded. Shares of Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. soared 27%, after one of the miner's founding shareholders, Alexander Machkevitch, said he is considering making a bid for the company.

Shares of Kazakhmys PLC, which owns a 26% stake in ENRC, rallied 24%. Another miner, Anglo American PLC rose 2.2% in London, after the firm said first-quarter output was higher across most commodities including copper, iron ore and diamonds.

Other miners were also showing upbeat performances, with Vedanta Resources PLC adding 6.1% and heavyweight Rio Tinto PLC up 1.5%. The FTSE 100 index rose 0.7% to 6,286.59, breaking a five-day losing streak, but shaving off 1.5% on the week.

The DAX 30 index fell 0.2% to 7,459.96, extending losses into a sixth straight day. On the week, the index dropped 3.7%. France's CAC 40 index picked up 1.5% to 3,651.96, but closed the week 2.1% lower.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCKS, BONDS

Asian stock markets were mostly higher Friday, with shares in China leading the recovery at the end of a broadly negative week.

China's disappointing growth data, which came out on Monday, set the tone for Asian markets for the week. The slower-than-expected expansion in the region's largest economy not only weighed on stocks in Hong Kong, but also helped exacerbate a sell-off in commodities, with gold leading the slide.

Having started the week on the back foot, appetite for the region's shares picked up on Friday as markets pared their losses for the week.

A strong performance by Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index almost eradicated the index's weekly loss, which was just 0.4%.

The Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.3% over the same period as risk aversion caused the yen to strengthen earlier in the week. Chinese stocks led a recovery Friday.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 2.1% at 2244.64 in the mainland, which translated into gains on Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, which shot up 2.3% to 22013.57, snapping a five-day losing streak.

The weak growth data had already been digested by Friday and the focus was on hopes that an imminent widening of the yuan's trading range could prompt more funds to enter the country's capital markets, following comments made by People's Bank of China Vice Governor Yi Gang this week.

Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund's Asia chief, Anoop Singh, said that markets had overreacted to China's lower than expected growth data and that recent indicators show that Asia's largest economy is holding up well.

Japanese stocks ended higher after indecisive trading early in the session, with the Nikkei up 0.7% to 13316.48. The index moved higher as the yen continued its weakening trend.

The greenback pushed higher after Japanese finance minister Taro Aso reassured the market that the Bank of Japan's recently launched monetary policies were not under attack at a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers in Washington.

Semiconductor manufacturer Tokyo Electron jumped 7.1% after it revised upwards its fiscal year estimates. Oil company JX Holdings fell 2.3% after a Nikkei report said that the company's group pretax profit for the just-ended fiscal year likely declined 20% on-year. South Korea's Kospi Composite ended up 0.4% at 1906.75.

COMMODITIES

Copper closed lower on the London Metal Exchange Friday, notching up its biggest weekly loss for 16 months as investors continued to look for better value in other assets.

At the close, LME three-month copper was down 1.4% at $6,988 a etric ton. U.S. crude futures posted modest gains Friday following sharp declines early in the week as traders paused to gauge whether weak demand will keep prices moving lower.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled 28 cents, or 0.3%, higher at $88.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange for June delivery settled 52 cents higher at $99.65 a barrel.

Gold prices inched higher, briefly trading above $1,400 an ounce, as reports of swift sales of the physical metal by bullion traders and coin stores bolstered investor interest in the precious metal.

Silver prices, however, slumped to their lowest level since October 2010 despite similar reports of robust silver coin sales. Gold for April delivery,

the front-month contract, rose $3.30, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,395.30 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. June-delivery gold rose $3.10, or 0.2%, to $1,395.60. Silver for April delivery, the front-month contract, fell 28.4 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $22.955 a troy ounce. Compiled from MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD.