Stocks rose on Friday, putting the S&P 500 on pace for its biggest gain in the past five weeks, after earnings from a slew of bellwether companies propelled what has been a solid earnings season to date.

McDonald's Corp climbed 2.3 percent to $97.47 and was the top boost to the Dow after the world's No. 1 fast-food chain reported higher quarterly profit, paced by strong U.S. sales.

Microsoft Corp advanced 5.5 percent, its biggest percentage gain in three months, to $32.70 after profit beat expectations late Thursday as personal computer sales held up better than expected.

General Electric Co rose 1.8 percent to $19.49 as the largest U.S. conglomerate's profit topped estimates on strong sales of jet engines and energy equipment and profit growth at its finance arm.

Yesterday there was some concern that McDonald's might miss, but they matched and had strong same-store sales growth. GE beat their number. Overall, it continues to be another good earnings season, said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

They are good signs the U.S. economy remains on track, it's not super growth, but it's growth.

Industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc reported higher quarterly profit and raised its 2012 earnings forecast. The stock was up 3.3 pct to $59.89.

The S&P industrial sector index <.GSPI>, up 1.1 percent, was the top performing S&P sector.

Of the 121 S&P 500 components reporting through Friday morning, 81 percent beat expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 107.24 points, or 0.83 percent, to 13,071.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 9.19 points, or 0.67 percent, to 1,386.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> advanced 22.69 points, or 0.75 percent, to 3,030.25.

Kimberly-Clark Corp posted a bigger-than expected increase in profit as the maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers trimmed costs to deal with weakness. Shares gained 2 percent to $76.73.

Air conditioner maker Ingersoll Rand Plc's net also topped the Wall Street view and forecast full-year profit within estimates. Shares rose 2.3 percent to $41.06.

Oilfield services company Schlumberger NV's profit rose on improved deepwater activity and global exploration in several regions. Shares climbed 4.5 percent to $72.90. The PHLX oil service sector index <.OSX> gained nearly 1 percent.

SanDisk Corp slumped 13.3 percent to $35.09 after the chipmaker said prices would be hurt due to a glut in the supply of memory chips, sounding its second revenue warning in as many quarters. The PHLX semiconductor index <.SOX> dropped 1.3 percent.

(Reporting By Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)