U.S. stocks ended higher Friday, with the Standard & Poor's 500 closing above 1,400 for the first time since the end of March, as strong earnings from Amazon and Expedia offset a weaker-than-expected gross domestic product report.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 23.69 points, or 0.18 percent, at 13,228.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 3.38 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,403.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 18.59 points, or 0.61 percent, to 3,069.20.

For the week, the blue-chip Dow rose 1.53 percent. The broader S&P 500 gained 1.80 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied 2.29 percent.

Technology shares got a strong boost after the online retailer Amazon reported net income of 130 million dollars, or 28 cents a share in the first quarter. Meanwhile, its revenue jumped 34 percent to 13.18 billion dollars, far more than analysts' expectations.

Amazon soared more than 15 percent Friday after the strong result and at least three major Wall Street firms raised their investment ratings to "buy" from "neutral" for the stock.

Also leading the broader market higher, Expedia surged 25 percent to an all-time high after the travel booking website reported strong earnings late Thursday.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department reported that the country's first-quarter GDP, the broadest measure of the nation's economic health, rose at an annual rate of 2.2 percent, disappointing economists who were expecting a stronger growth rate of 2.5 percent.

However, the data didn't exert much downward pressure to the stock market as it increases the chances for the Federal Reserve to launch a new round of quantitative easing, known as QE3.

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