** Some traditionally defensive stocks were outperforming on Friday afternoon, even as the broader market mood looked brighter, as investors appeared to still seek some safety in everything from electric utilities to canned soup and snacks

** Among the S&P 500 .SPX 11 major sectors, utilities .SPLRCU, known for high dividends and predictable revenues, was the biggest gainer strongest, up almost 2%

** And while consumer staples .SPLRCS turned into one of the weaker sectors of the 11 in the afternoon from one of the strongest earlier in the day, some components were still making impressive gains under the hood

** Staples' biggest gainer was Walgreens Boots Alliance WVA.O, up >7% after it agreed to be taken private for $10 bln, followed by Dollar General DG.N, up ~7%, Campbell's CPB.O, up ~6% eyeing second straight day of gains, erasing losses from sell-off after its lowering of annual sales, profit forecasts early on Wednesday

** Other staples stocks with strong gains included Conagra Brands CAG.N and JM Smucker SJM.N, up more than 5%; strength from the food co's helped offset a ~7% tumble in Costco Wholesale after the membership-only retailer, on Thursday missed Street expectations for Q2 profit

** Healthcare .SPXHC, another defensive sector, was up 0.4%; stocks rallying included Moderna Inc DVA.N, up more than 4% and Biogen BIIB.O, up >3%

** Meanwhile, the Nasdaq .IXIC was up 0.7% after earlier falling ~1.7% after confirming a correction on Thursday while the S&P 500 was up 0.6% after falling more than 1% earlier and the Dow .DJI up ~ 0.6% after dropping almost 1% earlier

(Reporting By Sinéad Carew)

((sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com; +13322191897;))