Microsoft, Juniper Send Tech Stocks Higher

Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) soared on Friday, sending the rest of the tech sector higher.

Microsoft gained 10.6% after the company was able to meet earnings expectations despite its first-ever year-over-year quarterly sales decline, while Juniper soared 16% after the company said it sees signs of stabilization.

Juniper’s results sent Cisco’s (NASDAQ: CSCO) shares 4.5% higher. Cisco will report its quarterly results on May 6.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) rose nearly 5% on strong earnings, while Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) lost 5% on worries about competition.

PMC-Sierra (NASDAQ: PMCS), Data Domain (NASDAQ: DDUP), Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD) and Starent Networks (NASDAQ: STAR) were other big earnings gainers, up 15% or more each.

The broader market surged after the U.S. government said most banks are well capitalized to withstand the downturn. A loss from Ford (NYSE: F) that wasn’t as bad as feared also helped boost stocks.

Next week will see earnings reports from Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA), Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), Citrix (NASDAQ: CTXS), Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT), among others. And the first look at first-quarter GDP on Wednesday probably won’t be pretty, with economists expecting a 5% decline.

The Nasdaq rose 42 to 1694, the S&P 500 gained 14 to 866, and the Dow rose 119 to 8076. Volume rose to 8.63 billion shares on the NYSE, and 2.57 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led by a 28-8 margin on the NYSE, and 19-7 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 75% on the NYSE, and 80% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 11-66 on the NYSE, and 13-19 on the Nasdaq.