GOOGLE INC A (GOOG) 569.96 -$3.03 (-0.53%) 10:33PM (15 mins delay)

After opening weaker Thursday, US equities closed marginally higher, led by the communications and energy sectors (the latter boosted by a $2 rise in crude). Tame inflation numbers, better weekly jobless numbers and a surge in the Empire Fed survey (to its highest level since 2004) also helped drag the US indices above water. After the bell we had solid results from Google (GOOG) (helped it join the 52-week high club) and IBM (IBM) (though their comments on corporate IT spending is a worry). The US banking reports beat surveyed expectations, but this was evidently well priced in and failed to provide a big enough beat for rapacious investors.

The embattled Dollar is getting a lift Friday from a Bloomberg story saying that the Brazilian government may introduce a tax on foreign capital inflows to curb its currency versus the Dollar.