A new round of strong corporate earnings reports Friday powered the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq indexes to their highest monthly gains since December, Reuters reported. The Dow rose 46.85 points, or 0.37%, to 12,810.24, on Friday, as component Caterpillar reported profits had jumped fivefold for the most recent quarter. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ended the day up 0.22% to 1,363.47, with Nasdaq up 0.04% to close at 2,873.54, according to preliminary calculations. The Dow has soared nearly 11 percent year to date, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
