* Foreclosure issue sinks banks again
* Google surges in heavy volume, boosts Nasdaq
* Bernanke's speech points to more monetary easing
* Dow off 0.3 pct, S&P up 0.2 pct, Nasdaq up 1.4 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close, changes byline)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - A blowout quarter from Google
sent the Nasdaq up over 1 percent on Friday, while uncertainty
surrounding major banks' exposure to foreclosure losses dragged
the Dow lower.
Google Inc's <GOOG.O> 11.2 percent surge -- on the largest
volume in two years - made the Nasdaq the best performer among
the three major U.S. stock indexes.
General Electric's poor quarterly revenues underscored the
economy's soft spots, and it was the Dow's biggest percentage
loser with a 5.1 percent drop.
With several major banks due to report earnings next week,
investors are keen to see how deeply the foreclosure crisis has
affected their stability.
"To the extent the banks have less capital because they
intended to foreclose on these homes, they'll be less able to
lend and help the economy move forward," said Manny Weintraub,
managing director at Integre Advisors in New York.
"It also makes people nervous about financial products in
general. It's just another headache in times when we don't need
headaches."
Citigroup <C.N>, which reports earnings on Monday, lost 2.7
percent to $3.95, while Bank of America <BAC.N> lost 4.9
percent to $11.98.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> dropped 31.79
points, or 0.29 percent, to 11,062.78. The Standard & Poor's
500 <.SPX> gained 2.38 points, or 0.20 percent, to 1,176.19.
The Nasdaq Composite <> rose 33.39 points, or 1.37
percent, to 2,468.77.
The S&P 500 hit a session high around 1,180 for a third
straight day, a level that could become technical resistance
moving forward.
Also weakening technically, the KBW bank index <.BKX> fell
5.9 percent in the past three days and slipped below its 50-day
moving average.
For the week, the Dow rose 0.5 percent, the S&P 500 added
0.9 percent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.8 percent.
FLYING APPLE, FALLING GE
Apple Inc <AAPL.O> led gains in the Nasdaq 100 and shot up
4.4 percent to a new record high intraday at $315. At the
close, Apple was up 4.1 percent at $314.74.
Technology companies "have great balance sheets, they don't
need financing, and have global customers," Weintraub said.
"Tech has a lot more opportunity to benefit from global
growth, which is stronger than U.S. growth."
General Electric Co <GE.N> closed at $16.30, down 5.1
percent, after revenues came in below estimates, even as
profits from continuing operations increased for the second
straight quarter and its GE Capital unit recorded a stronger
performance. [].
Earlier on Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
helped put a bid on equities after he said high unemployment
and low inflation pointed to a need for further monetary
easing. [].
A flood of data, including a smaller-than-expected rise in
consumer prices in September and a weaker-than-forecast reading
of consumer sentiment in October, supported investors' hopes
that the Fed will print more money.
The S&P 500 is up 12.1 percent since Sept. 1, partly on the
expectation of further accommodative policies from the U.S.
central bank.
About 9.9 billion shares traded on the New York Stock
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, the
highest since July 1, and above the year's volume average at
near 8.78 billion.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of about 3 to 2. On the Nasdaq, the balance was just
slightly tilted to the negative side despite the index's 1
percent gain for the day, with 1,340 issues falling and 1,253
shares rising.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)
