Stocks surged on Friday amid increasing hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal as equities were on pace to post another solid weekly gain.
The Dow Jones Industrials screamed higher 342.67 points, or 1.4%, to 25,782.06, as J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs outperformed.
The S&P 500 regained 22.73 points to 2,768.68, led by the energy and industrials sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 27.8 points to 7,454.76
Bank stocks rose, as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America advanced more than 2% each.
The 30-stock Dow and NASDAQ were both on pace to post their eight consecutive weekly gain. The S&P 500, meanwhile, was on track for its seventh weekly gain in eight. The indexes were all up more than 1% entering Friday's session.
On the data front Friday, industrial production for January fell 0.6%, towering over an expected increase of 0.3%. Consumer sentiment data are scheduled for release later on Friday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said trade talks between the U.S. and China will continue next week in Washington. This comes after a U.S. trade delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was in Beijing this week.
China and the U.S. are trying to strike a trade deal before an early March deadline.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slid, raising yields to 2.67% from Thursday’s 2.65%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.29 to $55.70 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $5.50 to $1,319.40 U.S. an ounce.
