Stocks were mixed Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 100 points as strong earnings from some big banks and companies lifted the index higher. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite ticked 0.1% and 0.2% lower, respectively.

Here's how the market settled to close out the week:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -0.10% or -4.62 points to 4,505.42

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.33% or +113.89 points to 34,509.03

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -0.18% or -24.87 points to 14,113.70

Despite the small losses on the day, all three major averages ended the week higher. The Dow posted its best performance since March, rising 2.3%, while the S&P 500 is up 2.4% and the Nasdaq outperformed, adding 3.3%.

The second-quarter earnings season kicked off this week, with UnitedHealth (UHN  ) shares rising more than 7% after the insurance giant reported strong adjusted earnings and revenue. United also raised the lower end of its full-year adjusted earnings guidance, a move that boosted the Dow throughout the session.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC  ) reporting better-than-expected results. Citigroup (C  ) shares came under pressure after the lender's revenue fell 1% from a year ago as the decline in its markets and investment banking businesses weighed on its second-quarter results. BlackRock (BLK  ) shares were also lower after its revenue fell year-over-year.

On the economic front, consumer sentiment rose to nearly two-year high in July's preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index. July's first reading came in at 72.6, up from June's final print of 64.4 and marking the highest reading for the index since September 2021.

"The sharp rise in sentiment was largely attributable to the continued slowdown in inflation along with stability in labor markets," said Joanne Hsu, director of Survey of Consumers, in a statement. "Sentiment is now about halfway between the all-time historic low of 50 from June 2022 and the February 2020 pre-pandemic reading of 101."

Elsewhere, the International Monetary Fund believes global headline inflation may have peaked, according to a blogpost on Friday. The IMF forecasts global growth over the medium-term to fall about 3%, lower than the average of 3.8% over 2000 to 2019.

"In the fight against inflation there are some early signs of monetary policy transmitting to activity, with bank lending standards tightening in the euro area and the United States. That said, policymakers should avoid 'premature celebrations': lessons from previous inflationary episodes show that easing policy too early can undo progress on inflation," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva wrote.

Looking ahead, investors will get readings on the health of the U.S. retail sector as well as more housing market data as Wall Street gears up for the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy decision later this month. Next week will also see earnings reports from companies like Bank of America (BAC  ), Morgan Stanley (MS  ), Tesla (TSLA  ), Netflix (NFLX  ), Goldman Sachs (GS  ), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ  ), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM  ).