NDAQ Nasdaq Inc

By Joseph Adinolfi and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Rising oil prices also help support stocks

U.S. stocks were climbing to session highs late-morning Friday, led by a rally in oil prices and a big rebound in battered bank stocks.

Advances in shares of J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group (GS) were contributing more than 40 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as bank executives' attempts to boost confidence in the beaten-up financial sector appeared to gain traction.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 178 points, or 1.2%, to 15,843, while the S&P 500 index gained 20 points, or 1.1%, to 1,849. The S&P 500's financial sector gained 2.5% to lead the 10 index's 10 sectors, which were all in the green with the exception of utilities, down 0.2%.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (NDAQ) rose 33 points, or 0.8%, to 4,299.

An upbeat report on retail sales helped push shares helped set the tone for a mini rally that verges on erasing at least some the steep losses from a week, characterized by a move into safe assets, including gold and U.S. government bonds.

Retail sales rose 0.2% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/retail-sales-increase-02-in-january-2016-02-12), beating expectations for a 0.1% increase from a survey of economists polled by MarketWatch, while the decline in growth initially reported for December was revised higher, from minus 0.1% to 0.2%.

Stocks initially trimmed gains after a survey from the University of Michigan (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-sentiment-weakens-in-february-university-of-michigan-says-2016-02-12) showed consumer sentiment has softened in February, largely due drop in its expectations component, but the indexes pushed to session highs soon after.

The retail-sales figures suggest consumer confidence is on the rise despite the recent volatility in global stock markets.

"We've been witnessing a steady increase in consumer confidence against a backdrop of doom and gloom, said Jack Albin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.

U.S. stocks will likely finish with a weekly loss after Thursday's sharp selloff, when Dow industrials ended at a two-year low (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-sink-more-than-200-points-as-global-rout-gains-pace-2016-02-11) and the S&P 500 index closed at its weakest level since April 2014.

Read: Here are 5 signs we might already be in a bear market (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-are-5-signs-we-might-already-be-in-a-bear-market-2016-02-11)

Both West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude oil rallied around 5% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rally-5-after-more-jawboning-from-opec-members-2016-02-12) after the United Arab Emirates's energy minister said late Thursday that the Organization of the Petroleum Producing Countries was ready to cooperate on production cuts.

In Europe, markets also rallied (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-finding-relief-but-weekly-slide-appears-intact-2016-02-12), with the Stoxx Europe 600 index rebounding after falling to a two-year low. The sentiment was more downbeat in Asia, where Japan's Nikkei 225 index slumped 4.8% to end with the worst weekly drop since 2008 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japan-stocks-plunge-to-lowest-point-in-more-than-a-year-2016-02-11).

Gold gave up some gains (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-prices-slip-as-investors-embrace-risk-assets-2016-02-12)after it jumped to its highest finish in a year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-jumps-to-1-year-high-as-global-market-rout-spurs-safe-haven-buying-2016-02-11) on Thursday. The dollar advanced against the euro and the yen .

Fed: New York Fed President William Dudley said the U.S. economy is well-suited to absorb any shocks that might come along during a speech on household borrowing and indebtedness.

Read: Have central banks lost market credibility? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-this-the-week-central-banks-lost-their-market-credibility-2016-02-11)

Movers and shakers: Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. climbed after CEO Jamie Dimon bought 500,000 of his bank's shares for $26 million (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ceo-jamie-dimon-bets-on-jp-morgan-chase-to-the-tune-of-26-million-2016-02-11) on Thursday. The purchase is meant to stem the negative sentiment clobbering bank stocks this year.

Groupon Inc.(GRPN) leapt more than 20% after it beat expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/groupon-swings-to-loss-results-beat-projections-2016-02-11) late Thursday.

Pandora Media Inc.(P) rose Friday after falling Thursday as investors disapproved of plans to invest in an on-demand music service (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pandoras-spending-plans-dismay-investors-2016-02-11).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 12, 2016 10:35 ET (15:35 GMT)

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