Investing.com - U.S. stocks moved higher in Friday afternoon trade, after an encouraging report on consumer sentiment and developments in Greece and Italy that pointed toward stabilizing the region’s debt condition.
In late afternoon U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.33% to 12,170.80, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.20% to 2,682.84, and the S&P 500 gained 2.09% to trade at 1,265.58.
Earlier Friday, the Italian Senate approved, by a vote of 156 to 12, to approve the budget-cutting measures promised to the European Union in exchange for assistance in reining in the country’s national debt of USD2.6 trillion.
Yields on Italy’s 10-year bonds fell for the second day after rising to record levels earlier in the week, nearing the 7% threshold that prompted Ireland, Portugal and Greece to seek bailouts.
Passage of the measure was expected to be a precursor to the appointment of former European Union commissioner and economist Mario Monti to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
In Athens, Lucas Papademos was sworn in as the country’s new prime minister to replace outgoing Greek leader George Papandreou, adding further stability to a scenario of European debt progress.
Meanwhile in the U.S., the University of Michigan reported Friday that its Consumer Sentiment Index rose more than expected to 64.2 in November, up from 60.9 the previous month. It was the highest reading for the index since June.
The University’s index is based on a survey of approximately 500 consumers and rates the relative level of current and future economic conditions in the U.S. Economists had forecast the index to rise to 60.1 for the period.
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At the end of Friday’s European session, the STOXX 50 Index strengthened by 3.10% to 2,324.81, France’s CAC 40 surged 2.76% to 3,348.63, Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 1.85% to 5,545.38, while Germany’s DAX gained 3.22% to close at 6,057.03.
All 30 Dow components registered gains in the session led by Bank of America Corp., up 4.14% and Citigroup Inc., gaining 2.93% .
Walt Disney Co. leapt 6.9% as the theme-park operator announced a 30% rise in profits, far outpacing analyst’s forecasts.
Genworth Financial Inc. followed Disney as the second-strongest performer on the S&P 500 surging 6.9% after Citigroup raised its outlook on the life insurance firm to neutral from sell.
Technology stocks joined the broader surge with Cisco Systems Inc. adding 2.1%, Hewlett-Packard Co. advancing 3.6% and IBM Corp. higher by 2.3%.
Entertainment conglomerate Viacom Inc. announced that it would be switching its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq in December saying it would be more “cost effective for the company.” Viacom shares climbed 3.69%.
The U.S. National Association of Home Builders was due to release its latest Housing Market Index on Monday.