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 The Nasdaq snapped a four-day losing streak, while the S&P tech
sector gained 1.5 percent and the S&P healthcare sector gained 1.3
percent. Apple shares rose 3 percent and were the biggest boost to
the major U.S. indexes.
All major European markets except London, its biggest, were closed
on Friday for the May Day holiday, while many Asian markets were
also shut. London's FTSE 100 index inched higher on a surge in the
shares of Lloyds bank and mining companies.
The gains in U.S. shares came after weak earnings reports had
contributed to losses in the benchmark S&P 500 over the previous two
sessions. The rise also came despite data showing that construction
spending fell in March to a six-month low and manufacturing growth
held at its slowest in almost two years in April.
A jump in consumer sentiment in April, however, and
stronger-than-expected vehicle sales for the month suggested the
economy was finding some footing and supported the dollar.
"When you have stocks that have declined so significantly, and with
investors with cash on the sidelines, I think people are looking at
opportunities to enter," said Katrina Dudley, portfolio manager at
Franklin Templeton Investments in Short Hills, New Jersey.
The MSCI world equity index was last up 1.88 points or 0.43 percent,
at 438.18.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 183.54 points, or 1.03
percent, to 18,024.06, the S&P 500 gained 22.78 points, or 1.09
percent, to 2,108.29 and the Nasdaq Composite added 63.97 points, or
1.29 percent, to 5,005.39.
The FTSE 100 index of top British shares closed up 0.36 percent at
6,985.95 points.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of
six major currencies, rose after posting its worst month in four
years in April. The index was last up 0.62 percent at 95.189 after
hitting a nine-week low of 94.399 on Thursday.
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The euro was last down 0.16 percent against the dollar at $1.12045
after hitting a more than nine-week high against the dollar of
$1.12900 earlier on Friday.
"We maintain that the (recent) sell-off in the greenback is likely
to run out of steam," said Jane Foley, senior FX strategist, at
Rabobank in London.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields, which move inversely to
prices, hit a seven-week high of 2.124 percent. Treasuries posted
their worst week in two months as traders readjusted to higher
yields globally.
Oil prices eased off 2015 highs after Iraq said its crude exports
hit a record in April, keeping Middle East production well above
demand.
Brent crude settled down 32 cents at $66.46 a barrel. U.S. crude
settled down 48 cents at $59.15 a barrel.
(Reporting by Sam Forgione; Additional reporting by Tanya Agrawal in
Bengaluru and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by
Meredith Mazzilli)
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