US stocks finished higher on Friday as better-than-expected corporate earnings and upbeat economic data lifted investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 50.03 points, or 0.41%, to finish at 12,220.59. The S&P 500 advanced 4.14 points, or 0.32%, to close at 1,313.80. The Nasdaq Composite rose 6.64 points, or 0.24%, to 2,743.06.
The Commerce Department said Friday that U.S. real gross domestic product for the fourth quarter was revised to an increase of 3.1% annualized from the earlier estimate of a 2.8% rise.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for March came in at a reading of 68.2, matching estimates.
Shares of DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) rallied 12 cents, or 2.51%, to close at $4.90.
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) jumped 12 cents, or 2.63%, to $4.69.
Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) said late Thursday that its fiscal third-quarter net income climbed to $2.1 billion, or 41 cents a share, compared to $1.19 billion, or 23 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 54 cents a share in the latest quarter. Revenue jumped 37% to $8.76 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to 6 cents a share, from 5 cents. Oracle shares rose 50 cents, or 1.55%, to $32.64.
European stocks finished higher.The UK FTSE rose 19.89 points, or 0.34% to 5,900.76. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.18% and 0.09% respectively.
Asian stocks finished higher. The Nikkei 225 gained 101.12 points or 1.07% to 9,536.13. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 243.39 points or 1.06% to 23,158.67.
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