U.S. stocks are rising after strong reports from Microsoft, Boeing

After Microsoft exceeded expectations, technology firms helped lift U.S. markets higher.

The S&P 500 was up 0.2% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 0.7% as of 13:47 GMT, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 52 points, or 0.2%.

After Microsoft Corporation posted better-than-anticipated results for the quarter and announced it was stepping up its efforts in artificial intelligence, its shares increased by 7%. The parent company of Google and a contender in the AI battle, Alphabet, also exceeded forecasts, and its stock increased by 0.7%.

After the aircraft manufacturer surpassed forecasts and announced it will increase 737 MAX output this year, Boeing Co shares increased by 3.6%.

Shares of First Republic Bank slid another 17%. The stock has been slammed this week amid renewed concerns about the banking sector after the bank said $100 billion of deposits left in the first quarter.

The Federal Reserve is closely watching corporate earnings as well as economic data this week as it heads into its next policy meeting next week. Futures traders expect the central bank to raise rates by a quarter of a percentage point next week and then pause at the June meeting as the economy cools.