TECH STOCKS: Big FinishTECH STOCKS: Big Finish

Stocks closed higher Friday following a positive financial outlook from General Electric, upbeat earnings news from IBM a day earlier, and a big gain by Juniper Networks, which lifted tech stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 46.66 points, or 0.4%, to close at 10,600.51, up 1.4% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 31.38 points, or 1.5%, to close at 2,140.46, its highest level since July 2001. The Nasdaq gained 2.6% for the week. And the S&P 500 index rose 7.78 points, or 0.7%, to 1,139.83, its highest close since April 2002. The S&P 500 rose 1.6% for the week. The Dow and the S&P 500 have posted eight straight weeks of gains; the Nasdaq six.

Also on Friday, the Nasdaq-100 tracking stock rose 39 cents to close at $38.57. It lost 1.2% for the week, though. The information 100 index rose 8.13 points Friday, to close at 350.67, a 2.4% gain. The index rose 4.1% for the week.

Networking equipment maker Juniper was the Nasdaq's biggest gainer, up $7, or 31%, to $29.93 on a positive earnings report. GE said quarterly earnings rose 47%. Other networking stocks, including Cisco Systems and Lucent Technologies, also closed higher, while Ciena rose $1.26, or 18.8%, to $7.97.

The markets also got a boost from Thursday's positive earnings reports by IBM and Sun Microsystems. J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One's decision to merge this week also provided a spark, analysts said.

The stock markets will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.