Google's 16% leap lifts Nasdaq to new high

The Nasdaq composite blew past 5200 and set a new closing high Friday for the second straight session in a row, bolstered by a huge Google gain.

Too bad Google isn't in a Dow stock -- the blue chip index headed the other way, drooping 0.2%.

Investors in the search giant were buoyed by the company's strong earnings, released after Thursday's closing bell. Reversing a string of five straight quarters of falling shy of earnings expectations, Google topped estimates handily and gave the stock added life in after-hours trading. The boost had overnight staying power, with GOOG on Friday gaining 16% -- up $93.08 to $672.93.

The Nasdaq ended up 0.9% -- adding 47 points to -- to end the day at 5210.14.

After a 34-point drop, the Dow Jones industrial average ended at 18,086.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 index eked out a 0.1% gain -- ending a scant four points below its closing high of 2,130.82, set May 21.

Wall Street digested a slew of economic data reports, including fresh June readings on housing starts, inflation at the consumer level and the first look at July consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan. The June consumer price index, which measures prices pay for goods ranging from apparel to tech gadgets, rose 0.3% vs. May and was inline with expecations. Housing starts last month surpassed analyst projections, rising 9.8% to a seasonally adjusted 1.174 million units.

The second-quarter earnings season, which is off to a good start with several key companies ranging from Google to big bank JPMorgan (JPM) topping forecasts, continued Friday. Before the opening bell, General Electric (GE) topped analyst earnings per share forecasts by three cents and also beat on revenue. GE shares ended up 0.7%.

Early in the profit reporting season, 72% of the 60 companies in the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500-stock index have topped expectations, which is better than the average "beat" rate of 63%, according to Thomson Reuters. Currently, earnings are expected to contract 1.7% in the second quarter, which, thanks to some solid beats, is better than the -3% growth estimated back on July 1.

Investors are also keeping a close eye on the ongoing Greek debt drama. Yesterday, the European Central Bank upped the amount of emergency cash it is injecting into cash-starved Greek banks, building on the momentum from a vote Wednesday in Greece that OK'd the onerous bailout terms from creditors and a decision today by Athens to open their banks Monday.

Today, though, all eyes are on Germany, where the German Parliament voted to approve Greece's latest deal and paved the way for funding of the 85 billion euro bailout.

In Europe, stock indexes ended mostly lower. The German DAX lost 0.4%, the FTSE in Britain shed 0.3% and the CAC 40 in France gained 0.1%.

Follow Adam Shell on Twitter: @adamshell.