YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Continued strength in the financial sector helped take the broader stock market markedly higher in afternoon trading, but momentum eventually slowed and stocks were left to finish with modest gains.

Buying in the financial sector followed optimistic comments from regional bank BB&T (BBT 23.42, +2.35), which essentially reassured investors that banks can still make money while building loss provisions. The comments helped regional bank stocks swing from an early loss to close the session with a 8.1% gain. BB&T also won favor for regional banks by reporting first quarter earnings of $0.48 per share, which bested the consensus estimate of $0.31 per share.

With the help of regional banks, financials were able to reverse an early loss of nearly 2% to close with a gain of 1.3% after being up more than 3% at their session high. Still, financials were able to log a weekly gain of 4.1%, which was helped along by improved commentary from several widely held companies during the past week.

Though it was a leader during the last several sessions, financial giant Citigroup (C 3.65, -0.36) was a laggard this session. The company reported a loss of $0.18 per share for the first quarter. Analysts had expected a loss of $0.34 per share. That initially provided support for Citi's stock, but buyers pushed back when the company indicated it expects second quarter charge offs to increase, and it doesn't see any reduction in credit costs from prior forecasts. Citi finished 9% lower, but still managed to gain almost 21% for the week.

Industrial giant and economic bellwether General Electric (GE 12.39, +0.12) saw its shares climb to their highest level in more than two months this session. The stock has been battling to restore investor confidence after speculation about the health of GE Capital, along with a dividend and ratings cut. GE took a step in the right direction this morning by reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.26 per share. The consensus stood at $0.21 per share.

Internet giant Google (GOOG 392.24, +3.50) brought large-cap tech stocks back into focus by unveiling record high adjusted earnings. The company brought in $5.17 per share, which topped the consensus estimate of $4.93 per share. However, Google's results failed to inspire buying in other large-cap tech stocks, which caused the tech sector to lag the broader market and close with a 0.2% loss.

Trading volume climbed to its highest level in nearly one month as almost 2 billion shares traded hands on the New York Stock Exchange. While volume is typically regarded as a sign of conviction, this session's volume was distorted by the expiration of stock options. DJ30 +5.90 NASDAQ +2.63 NQ100 +0.1% R2K +1.2% SP400 +1.2% SP500 +4.30 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1677/2.15 bln/1050 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2046/1.95 bln/987