Tech earnings keep Wall Street advance alive

Strong corporate earnings led Wall Street to a 29-month closing high for a second day, but another run of big gains may be harder to achieve.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 4.39 points, or 0.04 percent, at 11,989.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed up 2.91 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1,299.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.78 points, or 0.58 percent, at 2,755.28.

European shares edged up, led by banks, as Banco Santander rose ahead of results next week and Spain stepped up efforts to restructure its savings banks.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares rose 0.2 percent to close at 1,154.58 points after falling to a low of 1,150.12 earlier in the session.

Japan's Nikkei average gained 0.7 percent, recouping the previous day's losses as upbeat US earnings brightened sentiment ahead of Japanese corporate results.

The benchmark Nikkei ended the day up 0.7 percent or 76.76 points at 10,478.66, with technical sentiment brightening slightly after it broke through its 25-day moving average, now at 10,415.

The broader Topix index rose 0.8 percent to 929.66.