NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks headed higher Friday as the market bounced back from a steep loss the day before. Most Asian and European markets are closed for a holiday.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average was up 105 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,945 as of 12 9.m. Eastern time. The 30-company average lost 195 points the day before.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,095, while the Nasdaq composite rose 24 points, 0.5 percent, to 4,965.
TRADERS TRADING: “It’s an odd day in the markets,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank. The economic news out Friday was mostly disappointing, he said, yet traders pushed up major indexes at the end of a rough week. The S&P 500 is on track for a 1 percent weekly loss, the Nasdaq for a 2.4 percent loss.
MIXED: Spending on construction fell in March, the government reported Friday, a result of a drop in new home building and government projects. Another report said optimism about the job market last month lifted U.S. consumer sentiment to its second-highest level since 2007.