NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stocks rose on Friday as better-than-expected retail sales further relieved fears of another recession while optimism kept growing that the euro zone was making progress on a solution to its debt crisis.
Tech shares rallied after a blowout quarter from Google Inc (GOOG.O), putting the S&P 500 on track for back-to-back weekly gains for the first time since early July.
French and German officials are trying to put flesh on the bones of a crisis resolution plan in time for a European Union summit on October 23, overshadowing Standard and Poor's cut of Spain's credit rating, a move that underlined the challenges facing Europe's finance ministers.
Adding to the positive tone, U.S. Commerce Department data showed September retail sales rose 1.1 percent from a month earlier, beating the median forecast in a Reuters poll for a 0.7 percent rise. Sales growth during August was revised upward to 0.3 percent.
"People are growing more hopeful that European policy-makers are going to announce a comprehensive plan, and the retail sales data was the latest in a number of datapoints that have caused people to lessen their worries about an imminent recession," said Nick Sargen, chief investment officer at Fort Washington Investment Advisors in Cincinnati.
The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 70.16 points, or 0.61 percent, to 11,548.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) added 9.88 points, or 0.82 percent, to 1,213.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) rose 19.80 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,640.03
The recent rally since the S&P 500 briefly hit bear market territory on an intraday basis on October 4 has pushed the benchmark index near 1,220, a key resistance point it's been unable to cross since early August.
"We're definitely showing signs of stabilizing, but if the plan from Europe is a disappointment, we'll probably retest our lows," said Sargen, who helps oversee $38 billion in assets under management.
Google Inc (GOOG.O) led the Nasdaq higher as shares jumped 5.9 percent to $591.78 after its results late on Thursday blew past Wall Street's expectations, helped by strong advertising sales and deft cost controls.
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) rose 1.8 percent to $415.90 as the newest version of its iPhone went on sale across the country.
On the downside, Mattel Inc (MAT.O) fell 1.5 percent to $27.36 as higher costs hurt its margins in the third quarter.
Consumers remained pessimistic, despite the growth in retail spending. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary October reading on consumer sentiment slipped to 57.5 from 59.4 the month before. It fell short of the median forecast of 60.2 among economists polled by Reuters.
The Labor Department said overall import prices increased 0.3 percent, after falling 0.2 percent in August. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had expected prices to drop 0.3 percent last month.
(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal)
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