U.S. stocks were higher on Friday, as continued rises in the prices of both U.S. and Brent Crude oil gave investors confidence heading into the end of the work week.
The Euro zone reported GDP figures that grew 0.3 percent in the final quarter of 2014—higher than the expectations of analysts. The Europeans were further encouraged when Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras agreed to meet with key financial representatives ahead of Monday’s pivotal meeting on debt talks.
Today’s data included the preliminary figure for University of Michigan consumer sentiment, which stayed close to last month’s levels. Key earnings figures will come from Exelon, Smuckers and Red Robin at the close of business.
Here are the final numbers from Wall Street on Friday:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,019.23 (+46.85)
NASDAQ: 4,893.84 (+36.22)
S&P 500: 2,096.99 (+8.51)