- U.S. stocks ended a down week on a high note Friday, snapping a five-day losing streak on the strength of energy and financial companies.
A sharp rebound in oil prices and an encouraging report on retail sales helped lift the stock market to its first gain since late last week. The oil rebound sent the S&P 500's energy companies 2.6 percent higher. Marathon Oil was the best performer in the sector, rising 48 cents, or 6.8 percent, to $7.49.
Despite the rally, the major U.S. stocks indexes ended the week down about 1 percent and they remain down more than 8 percent for the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 313.66 points, or 2 percent, to 15,973.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 35.70 points, or 2 percent, to 1,864.78. The Nasdaq composite added 70.67 points, or 1.7 percent, to 4,337.51.
Global stocks have been in a slump since the beginning of the year on concerns that growth in China, which has been the engine of the global economy in recent years, is slowing far faster than expected. Plunging oil prices and low inflation have added to the market's jitters that the global economy is sputtering.
Those worries also helped drive the stock market lower in recent days, and continued to batter stocks in Asia. Japan's main stock index lost nearly 5 percent Friday. But the downbeat trend in the U.S. snapped as investors were encouraged by retail sales and a rally in European stocks.
- The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was up 2 percent at 1,218.97, having closed down 3.7 percent on Thursday, when a slump in banks and resource-related stocks pushed the index to a 2-1/2 year low.
Banks were in favour with Commerzbank up 14 percent after it returned to profit in the fourth quarter. Provisions for bad loans fell, allowing the bank to draw a line under a six-year restructuring by announcing it was closing its 'bad bank' comprising non-core assets.
In all, the STOXX 600 Banks index rose 3.8 percent.
Reference: Masslive, Accountingnet
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