* Nasdaq, S&P 500 hit intra-day record highs
* Q2 U.S. GDP data better than expected
* Positive earnings from Alphabet, Intel, Starbucks, others
* Dollar hits two-month high
* Investors eye U.S.-China trade talks, Fed meeting
(Updates to U.S. market morning trade, changes dateline,
byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit
fresh intraday highs and the dollar reached a two-month peak on
Friday as strong economic data and a stream of upbeat earnings
reports stoked investor sentiment.
A spate of solid quarterly results from a wide array of U.S.
companies, including Google parent Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Intel
Corp INTC.O , Starbucks Corp SBUX.O and McDonald's Corp
MCD.N helped allay disappointment over Amazon.com's AMZN.O
miss. U.S. economic growth slowed less than analysts expected in
the second quarter on a jump in consumer spending, which more
than made up for a drop in imports and a slowdown in inventory
build-up. "All and all, it was a pretty decent number given where
estimates were a few weeks ago," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice
president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.
Market participants now look to the coming week, when U.S.
and China negotiators are due resume talks in Beijing aimed at
resolving the market-rattling trade war and the Federal Reserve
is expected to cut interest rates for the first time in a decade
at the conclusion of their two-day monetary policy meeting.
"It's good that (the U.S. and China) are talking," Hellwig
added. "That's about all the market expects, a continuing
dialogue."
Regarding the Fed meeting, Hellwig believes the central bank
will deliver the expected 25 basis point interest rate cut.
"I think the net result will be positive and reaffirm that
the Fed is our friend," he said, adding that the European
Central Bank on Thursday "set the stage for monetary easing"
globally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 14.39 points,
or 0.05%, to 27,155.37, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 19.78 points,
or 0.66%, to 3,023.45 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
89.01 points, or 1.08%, to 8,327.55.
A rally in large-cap stocks pushed European shares higher,
as positive earnings and a surge in Vodafone Group VOD.L
spurred a recovery from Thursday's sell-off, which was driven by
the European Central Bank leaving interest rates unchanged.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.31% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained
0.24%.
Bucking the trend, emerging-market assets slipped as
investors shied away from riskier assets after ECB President
Mario Draghi gave a rosier-than-expected economic outlook.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.51%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.69%
lower, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 lost 0.45%.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against other
world currencies, climbed to a two-month high, setting a course
for a second straight weekly advance. The dollar index .DXY rose 0.22%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.21% to $1.1122.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.08% versus the greenback at
108.73 per dollar, while sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.2384, down 0.56% on the day.
U.S. Treasuries yields were steady following the U.S.
Commerce Department's better-than-expected GDP report.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 1/32 in price
to yield 2.0756%, from 2.074% late on Thursday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last rose 3/32 in price to
yield 2.5987%, from 2.603% late on Thursday.
Oil prices inched higher and were on track for a weekly
increase due to concerns over the safety of oil transport around
the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 0.04% to $56.00 per barrel and Brent
LCOcv1 was last at $63.34, down 0.08% on the day.
Spot gold XAU= added 0.4% to $1,419.16 an ounce.
Copper CMCU3 lost 0.82% to $5,958.00 a tonne.
Three-month aluminum on the London Metal Exchange CMAL3
lost 1.07% to $1,806.50 a tonne.