New York: The Nasdaq fell on Friday, halting a 12-day run-up, following Microsoft Corp's disappointing quarterly results, but gains in pharmaceutical and energy shares lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh 8-month closing highs.

Microsoft shares slid 8.3 per cent to $23.45, a day after the software maker posted quarterly revenue below Wall Street's estimates. Web retailer Amazon.com Inc also missed sales expectations, driving its stock down 7.9 per cent to $86.49.

The results cast a cloud over what is so far shaping up to be a stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings season.

Even so, investors took Wall Street's initial drop on Friday as an opportunity to scoop up shares in other sectors, including energy and defensive plays such as big pharmaceuticals and utilities.

"Microsoft is going through a product transition and no great visibility on the Windows franchise, but in general, the tone this quarter for a good many companies has been strong," said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of the US equity group at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management in New York. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.95 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 9,093.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 2.97 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 979.26. But the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 7.64 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 1,965.96. Microsoft was the top drag on both the Dow and the Nasdaq. Amazon.com was the Nasdaq's second-worst performer. The Nasdaq's 12-day winning streak was its longest unbroken run since 1992. Indexes up 4% for the week All three major US stock indexes scored a second straight weekly advance, with the Dow rising 4 per cent, the S&P 500 gaining 4.1 per cent and the Nasdaq climbing 4.2 per cent. For the day, both the Dow and the S&P 500 hit their highest closes since early November 2008. Since hitting a 12-year closing low of 676.53 on March 9, the S&P 500 has gained 44.7 per cent. The Nasdaq, which closed at 1,268.64 on March 9, was up almost 55 per cent from that level at Friday's close. The Dow has risen about 39 per cent from its March 9 close at 6,547.05. For the year, the Dow is up 3.6 per cent, while the S&P 500 is up 8.4 per cent and the Nasdaq is up 24.7 per cent. With 184 of the S&P 500 companies having reported second-quarter results through Friday, 77 per cent - or 142 companies - have beaten forecasts, according to Thomson Reuters data. Good RX for the Dow In Friday's session, shares of US health care and consumer products company Johnson & Johnson shot up 2.1 per cent to $61.51 and provided the top boost to the Dow. The second-biggest contributor to the Dow's advance was US drugmaker Merck & Co, up 2.5 per cent at $30.99. The AMEX Pharmaceuticals index .DRG rose 1.4 per cent. Chevron Corp climbed 0.8 per cent to $68.43 after US front-month crude oil gained 89 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to settle at $68.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The S&P energy index rose 1 per cent. In other earnings-related news, tool manufacturer Black and Decker Corp raised its full-year profit view, sending its shares up 10.1 per cent to $37.13. In Friday's session, the broad market's gains were curbed by a report showing US consumer sentiment waned in late July to its lowest reading since April, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. The final July reading for the consumer sentiment index was 66.0, down from June's reading of 70.8. Volume was light on the New York Stock Exchange, with only about 1.02 billion shares changing hands, well below last year's estimated daily average of 1.49 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 2.25 billion shares traded, just shy of last year's daily average of 2.28 billion. Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of about 9 to 5, while on the Nasdaq, about 5 stocks rose for every four that fell.