US STOCKS-Wall St advances on corp profits, GE dividend

                                

                                
 * Verizon up on gains in wireless business
                                
 * GE hikes dividend, shares jump
                                
 * Investors digest European bank stress test results
                                
 * Indexes up: Dow 0.8 pct, S&P 0.6 pct, Nasdaq 0.6 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Updates to mid-afternoon)
                                
 By Caroline Valetkevitch
                                
 NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday as
a dividend hike by General Electric Co and solid earnings from
companies including telecommunications provider Verizon
Communications Inc boosted sentiment.
                                
 The Dow Industrials were briefly in positive territory for
the year.
                                
 Shares of GE <GE.N> rose nearly 4 percent to $15.80 after
the largest U.S. conglomerate increased its quarterly dividend
by 20 percent, bolstering views the worst of the financial
crisis was behind it. An S&P index of industrial shares <.GSPI>
added 2 percent, and the sector was among the top advancers.
                                
 Wall Street had a muted reaction at first after the
anxiously awaited results of European bank stress tests.
                                
 Seven of 91 European banks failed the tests to gauge their
strength, fewer than expected, but analysts questioned whether
the tests were tough enough. For details, see [ID:LDE66M1VZ]
                                
 Verizon <VZ.N gave a major lift to the Dow after it said
its wireless venture added more customers than expected and
that landline profit margins topped estimates. Its shares were
up 3.6 percent at $27.96. [ID:nN2395698]
                                
 Other telecoms also rose, including AT&T Inc <T.N>, up 0.2
percent at $25.58.
                                
 "Expectations for a double-dip (recession) have passed
somewhat. When you start looking at the robust earnings, (it's
clear) we're going to have continued growth," said Steve
Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co in Greenwich,
Connecticut.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> jumped 77.12
points, or 0.75 percent, at 10,399.42. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> added 6.63 points, or 0.61 percent, at
1,100.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 13.35
points, or 0.59 percent, at 2,259.24.
                                
 The S&P 500 rose above 1,100 for the first time in a month,
and that gain along with other chart moves, such as its daily
moving average convergence-divergence, sent a bullish technical
signal sent bullish signals to investors.
                                
 Genzyme Corp <GENZ.O> jumped 17 percent to $63.22 after the
Wall Street Journal reported French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis
<SASY.PA> is sounding out the biotechnology company about an
acquisition. [ID:nN23155324]
                                
 U.S.-listed shares of the Bank of Ireland <BKIR.I><IRE.N>
rose 3.6 percent to $4.07 after it passed the regulatory stress
tests.
                                
 Hoping to ease fears over any impact from the euro zone
debt crisis, European regulators assessed how banks would cope
with another downturn. [ID:nLDE66M1UD]
                                
 Weighing on the Nasdaq, Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O> slid 3
percent to $116.60 a day after reporting a profit far short of
estimates.
                                
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by
Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)