Wall Street stocks end higher

Stocks rose on Friday and were on track to end the week higher as Italys senate approved economic reforms, easing investors concerns about the euro zones debt crisis.Reuters reported that Italian bond yields, which earlier this week hit the highest level since the euro was introduced in 1999, fell sharply after Italys upper chamber approved economic reforms on Friday.The package of austerity measures demanded by the European Union now goes to the lower house, which is expected to approve it on Saturday.Passage would trigger the resignation of the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Former European Commissioner, Mario Monti is widely expected to take over as head of a broadly based national unity government. An index of European shares rose 2.2 per cent to end at 984.62."Equities are being whiplashed by European headlines, and we seem to regularly alternate between very negative panic headlines and very positive solution headlines," Chief Investment Officer of Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills, New York, Tim Ghriskey, said, adding, "There is no consistency here and there remains a lot of skepticism. The bad news isnt over by any means."In debt-loaded Greece, the Prime Minister-Designate, Lucas Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank, will name a new crisis cabinet to roll out austerity plans.The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 273.59 points, or 2.30 per cent, to 12,167.38. The Standard & Poors 500 Index climbed 25.86 points, or 2.09 per cent, to 1,265.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 56.21 points, or 2.14 per cent, to 2,681.36.Financial shares, seen as vulnerable because of their exposure to European debt, ranked among the best performers. Bank of America Corporation rose 4.3 per cent to $6.49, and JPMorgan Chase & Company gained 2.6 per cent to $33.59. The KBW Bank index climbed 2.2 per cent.Walt Disney Company jumped 6.2 per cent to $36.77 after the media and entertainment group reported a seven per cent gain in revenues and a 30 per cent jump in profit, trumping expectations.On the economic front, data showed United States consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in five months in early November as Americans felt better about the economic outlook.
Click here to read full news..