NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks rose again Friday, putting the market on track for the best week in almost two years. Amazon plunged after the company reported dismal third-quarter results, but that wasn't enough to drag the rest of the market down.<br />
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KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 43 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,719 as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose five points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,956 and the Nasdaq composite is up 14 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,467.<br />
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CLEARANCE: Amazon dropped $24, or 8 percent, to $289.33 after the company reported a steeper-than-expected loss. The deficit came despite a large increase in sales from a year ago. Investors have been getting impatient with Amazon, which has been unable to deliver profits even as its gains ground as one of the world's largest retail companies.<br />
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FED MEETING: Investors will increasingly turn their focus to next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting for confirmation that the U.S. central bank is ending its bond-buying program. That policy has kept interest rates extremely low to support an economic recovery. It has also helped drive stock prices higher as investors sought higher returns. Recent mixed signals about the strength of the U.S. recovery prompted speculation that the Fed might let the program continue for longer than previously anticipated.<br />
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GREAT WEEK: After the turbulence in the market last week, U.S. stocks are on pace for their best week in nearly two years. The S&P 500 is up 3.5 percent so far this week, the biggest gain since January 2013.<br />
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TO THE REPAIR SHOP: Ford fell 46 cents, or 3 percent, to $13.94 after the company reported a steep drop in profits. Net income dropped 34 percent to $835 million in the third quarter, mostly due to the costs of launching its new F-150 truck.<br />
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ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil was down $1.01 at $81.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It had jumped Thursday on reports of lower production in Saudi Arabia and signs of strength in the U.S. economy.<br />
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CURRENCIES, BONDS: The euro edged up to $1.2659 from $1.2650. The dollar slipped to 107.97 yen from 108.17 yen. Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.25 percent.
