Stocks advanced on Friday, with the Dow up 2 percent by midday trade, as investors looked forward to a weekend European Union debt-crisis summit that could potentially remove a major headwind for markets.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 215.06 points, or 1.86 percent, at 11,756.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 19.94 points, or 1.64 percent, at 1,235.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 36.41 points, or 1.40 percent, at 2,635.03.
(Reporting by Angela Moon, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
