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US stocks rose Friday as an upbeat retail sales report trumped a weak reading on consumer confidence, putting the Dow Jones Industrial Average on track for its first back-to-back gain in ...

The Fed spoke - and financial markets rallied. The Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 429 points, its tenth highest point gain in history and the biggest since March 2009. It was just one day after the Dow had its worst point decline since 2008.

Stocks opened higher as encouraging quarterly results from blue-chip companies and a hint of housing optimism gave a boost to investor sentiment.

Developments in Greece helped stocks in the United States, closing a volatile quarter marked by debt concerns in the euro zone and by a struggling economic recovery at home.

Stocks are shaking off a two-week slump after a report on retail sales wasn't as bad as economists had predicted... The government said Tuesday that retail sales edged down 0.2 percent last month, the first decline in nearly a year. That was slightly better than analysts were expecting. Americans bought fewer cars during the month, but the decline reflected temporary supply chain disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. Excluding weak car sales, retail sales rose 0.3 percent.

World markets are also up as investors look past worries about the American economy and Europe’s debt crisis.

Caterpillar drove the Dow Jones industrial average higher Friday after the company reported a huge gain in first-quarter earnings. The world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment rose 2.5 percent after its earnings increased more than five-fold. The company also raised its sales and profit forecast for the year.

U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its highest level since June 2008, as companies from United Parcel Service Inc. to Ford Motor Co. and 3M Co. beat analysts’ profit estimates.

The blue chips kicked off the second quarter with solid gains on optimistic economic data after capping the best first quarter in more than a decade.

Markets calmed Thursday, opening broadly higher in New York. Markets regained their losses Thursday, after falling nearly 2% on Wednesday as Japan’s nuclear crisis and protests in the Middle East heated up fears over the safety in equity investments. Oil added to its gains Thursday, rising 2% to $99.99 a barrel.