US stocks rebounded Friday following the worst selloff in nearly two months in the previous session, as investors cheered an upward revision of the US economic growth and improving consumer sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 167.35 points, or 0.99 percent, to 17,113.15. The S&P 500 rose 16.86 points, or 0.86 percent, to 1,982.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 45.45 points, or 1.02 percent, to 4,512.19, Reuters reported.
Despite the rally, the benchmark indices still wrapped up the week with losses. The blue-chip Dow was down 1.0 percent this week, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were 1.4 percent and 1.5 percent lower, respectively.
On the economic front, US real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.6% in the second quarter of 2014, marking the fastest growth rate since late 2011, according to the estimate released by the Commerce Department.
The latest figure was higher than the previous estimate of a 4. 2% rise and followed a 2.1% contraction in the first quarter.
The increase in the second-quarter GDP primarily reflected positive contributions from consumer spending, exports and private inventory investment, among others.
US consumer sentiment also improved further in September. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s final reading of the consumer sentiment index climbed to 84.6 in September from a final August reading of 82.5.
Currencies
In other markets, the dollar extended its gains Friday as optimistic US economic data strengthened market speculations that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates earlier than expected.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies, hit a four-year high of 85.521 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro slipped to $1.2683 from $1.2747 in the previous session. The dollar bought 109. 36 Japanese yen, higher than 108.69 yen of the previous session.
US crude prices recovered on the better-than-expected economic growth in the second quarter, but Brent crude futures stayed flat on growth concerns over Asia and Europe and ample crude supply from Libya.
Light, sweet crude for November rose 1.01 dollars to settle at $93.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery was unchanged to close at $97.00 a barrel.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell. The most active gold contract for December delivery fell $6.5, or 0.53 percent, to settle at $1,215.4 per ounce.
