Shoppers hit the stores to take advantage of Black Friday sales
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks rose on Friday, buoyed by encouraging economic data from Germany and China, as American consumers headed to stores to take advantage of Black Friday sales.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.88% climbed 53 points, or 0.4%, to 12,889 in morning trading, with all 30 of its components in positive territory. Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ +3.06% and Microsoft Corp. MSFT +2.45% were the top gainers, rising 2% and 1.4%, respectively.
The S&P 500 index SPX +0.86% gained 6.5 points, or 0.5%, to 1,397.6, with information technology the top gainer and utilities the sole decliner among its 10 major industry groups.
The Nasdaq Composite COMP +1.04% added 18.66 points, or 0.6%, to 2.944.94. Shares of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. RIMM +12.96% rallied nearly 12%.
No U.S. economic data are due on Friday, but global economic reports buoyed the mood on Wall Street.
Germany’s Ifo business-climate index rose to 101.4 in November from 100 in October, beating expectations for a decline. The rise in November came after six successive declines and showed the German economy is holding up in the face of the euro-zone debt crisis, the Ifo Institute said on Friday.
In Asia, the HSBC purchasing-managers index on Thursday showed that China’s manufacturing sector expanded in November for the first time in 13 months, indicating that growth will pick up in the fourth quarter. Read: China’s manufacturing sector finally expanding.
The stock market will close at 1 p.m. on Friday after trading was shut on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Bond trading will end at 2 p.m.
The retail sector was in the spotlight, as consumers hit shops across the nation to take advantage of Black Friday sales. Read: Black Friday frenzy begins for shoppers.
