The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 41 points, or 0.4%, to 10,829. The S&P 500 added 5 points, or 0.4%, to 1146 and the Nasdaq ended ahead by 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2370.
Energy stocks led the markets higher as crude oil prices rose to as high as $81 a barrel on Friday, fueled by a weaker dollar.
Investors had a lot to digest this morning as a series of economic reports provided a mixed outlook on the economy.
The Commerce Department said early Friday that personal incomes rose 0.5% in August , up from an increase of 0.2% previously while personal spending gained 0.4% in August compared with similar growth in July. Economists had been expecting personal incomes to increase by 0.3%, and personal spending was slated to inch 0.3% higher, according to Briefing.com.
"It still looks like we have a "government aided" recovery, evident in today's numbers," economists at PNC wrote in their report, noting that the increase in personal income was partly aided by the boost to unemployment benefits. Construction spending too was boosted by government funded projects, the report said.
The market also took note of comments byWilliam Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who called current economic conditions "unsatisfactory" and said further stimulus measures by the Federal Reserve are warranted.
Meanwhile, global markets responded to news that Chinese industrial production expanded at a strong pace, mitigating a disappointing read on Europe's purchasing managers' index, which fell in September.
The November crude oil contract added $2.1 to settle at $79.97 a barrel, after rising past $80 a barrel.
Elsewhere in commodity markets, the December gold contract settled higher by $8.20, at $1,317.80 an ounce.
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