U.S. Stocks Ease From Day's Highs; Illumina Up 2%

Stocks pulled back from their intraday highs Friday in midday action. The Nasdaq clung to a 0.2% gain after being up as much as 0.9%. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the NYSE composite added 0.8%. The defensive Dow Jones Utility Average held a 1.1% gain. Volume was up sharply across the board. Today is a quadruple witching day, which often boosts trade. Illumina (ILMN) added 2% in fast turnover. The stock appears to be working on a bullish base-on-base