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• Stocks closed a volatile month with strong gains on Friday on renewed bets the U.S. and China could strike a deal on trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 199.62 points to close at 25,538.46. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both gained 0.8 percent to close at 2,760.17 and 7,330.54, respectively. Stocks wobbled for most of the session until Reuters reported that a Chinese official said "consensus is steadily increasing" in U.S.-China trade talks. The official added, according to the report, that differences between the two countries remained.

• Heading into December, however, stocks could be in for more volatility, said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird.

"We do not have evidence that a meaningful cyclical low is in place, and the character of any rally attempts that do emerge will be watch closely," Bittles said in a note. He added, however, stocks have historically done well in December.

"December has a well-known history as being a strong month of the year for stocks," Bittles said. "In fact, it is the strongest month of the year for U.S. stocks on an absolute basis. Stocks have rallied over the course of the month about three quarters of the time."