Investing.com - U.S. stocks soared higher Friday, with the S&P 500 breaking above 1400 for the first time in nearly 4 years, on better than expected economic data.
At the close of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.44%, the S&P 500 added 0.59%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.51%.
Sparking the equity rally, the U.S. Department of Labor said number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week dropped to a four-year low of 351,000, beating expectations for a decline to 356,000.
Offering more equity positive news, separate reports showed that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region expanded at a faster than forecast rate in March, rising to the highest level in 11 months, while manufacturing activity in New York improved unexpectedly, climbing to the highest level since June 2010.
Elsewhere, official data showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose slightly less-than-expected in February, increasing by a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, below expectations for a 0.5% gain, while core producer prices rose 0.2% last month, in line with expectations.
The data supported the view that the U.S. economic recovery is gathering momentum, after the Federal Reserve upgraded its outlook on the economy earlier this week, causing investors to lower expectations for a third round of quantitative easing.
Banks led the market higher with Bank of America adding 4.1% and JP Morgan Chase climbing 2.7% on the session.
Apple broke a 6 day rally giving back 0.4% despite the iPad 3 going on sale Friday and a price cut for the previous versions.
CSX Corp climbed 8% as the railroad operator stated it expects record first quarter earnings.
EBay gave back 2.2% after Credit Suisse downgraded the online auction house to neutral from outperform.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.74%, France's CAC 40 added 0.44%, while Germany’s DAX advanced 0.92%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 traded down by 0.08%.
Investors are awaiting U.S. industrial production, consumer sentiment and capacity utilization, as well as the Bank of Japan’s meeting minutes and Canada’s manufacturing sales on Friday.