(By Balsheshan) U.S. stocks closed in green after a volatile week amid increased hopes that central banks will act to spur economic growth, as investors mull second round of elections in Greece on Sunday and the Fed's policy meeting next week.
S&P 500 Index advanced 1.03 percent to finish at 1,342.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.91 percent to end at 12,767.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.29 percent to close at 2,872.80.
On the economic front, the Empire State Index - which rates the relative level of general business conditions New York state - tumbled fifteen points to 2.3 in June, versus expectations of a drop to 13.89 in May.
Industrial production retreated 0.1 percent in May, compared to previous month's 1.0 percent gain, while economists estimate a rise of 0.1 percent. The U.S. consumer sentiment index fell to a six-month low in June, a report from Reuters and the University of Michigan showed. The consumer sentiment index for the month fell to 74.1 from 79.3 reading in May, while economists expected the index to slip to 77.5.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: IIVI, MSFT, DYAX, MVIS, NOK, FB
In corporate news, II-VI Inc. (NASDAQ:IIVI) fell 12.85 percent after the maker of derivative precision components slashed its forecast for the fourth quarter, citing fall in demand for tellurium, among other reasons. In addition, the company guided 2013 below Wall Street projections.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose 2.15 percent after Wall Street Journal reported that the company agreed to buy business software provider Yammer Inc. for $1.2 billion.
Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ:DYAX) slumped 10.51 percent after the biopharmaceutical company said it is discontinuing its mid-stage clinical trial of Kalbitor because the angioedema drug was not working better than placebo.
MicroVision Inc. (NASDAQ:MVIS) plunged 25.41 percent after the developer of high-resolution miniature laser display technology announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 4.2 million units at $2.50 per unit, a 16.4% discount to Thursday's close.
Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK) gained 5.32 percent after the shares were upgraded to "Perform" from "Underperform" by Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Ittai Kidron, saying the cost cuts buy more time to turn around its business without bleeding cash in the process.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) added 4.07 percent, putting the stock on track to post back-to-back gains for just the second time since it went public. According to Reuters, the social networking giant, facing a raft of lawsuits from investors seeking to recoup losses from its botched IPO, laid out how cascading Nasdaq trading glitches might have contributed to the confusion surrounding its May 18 debut.
Global Markets:
European markets ended on a positive note ahead of the elections in Greece on Sunday. Germany's DAX gained 1.48 percent to close at 6,229.41. France's CAC40 climbed 1.82 percent to finish at 3,087.62. The U.K. FTSE 100 rose 0.22 percent to end at 5,478.81.
Asian markets ended higher tracking global cues. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.54 percent to end at 2,308.25. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.26 percent to close at 19,233.94. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed flat at 8,569.32. India's BSE Sensex finished at 16,949.83, up 1.63 percent.
Commodity & Currency Scan:
Crude oil futures rose 0.15 percent to $84.040 per barrel and natural gas futures declined 1.16 percent to $2.47 per million metric British thermal units. Gold futures added 0.40 percent to $1,624.90 per ounce and silver futures gained 0.86 percent to $28.65 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro edged 0.17 percent higher against the U.S. dollar to 1.2655. The British pound gained 0.87 percent against the greenback to 1.5697, while the dollar dipped 0.89 percent against the Japanese yen to 78.6400.