US stocks end higher amid trade observation, consumer data

US stocks closed higher, ending the week on an upbeat note, as investors continued to gauge the development of US-China trade scenarios, and the market was backed by the latest consumer sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday rose 6.44 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 27,681.24. The S&P 500 was up 7.90 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 3,093.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 40.80 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 8,475.31, Xinhua reported.

More than half of the 30 blue-chip stocks in the Dow traded higher around market close. Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher around the closing bell, with the health care sector up 0.8 per cent, leading the winners. Shares of Walt Disney rose 3.76 per cent, after the entertainment giant reported third-quarter earnings that came above market estimates.

The currently solid corporate earnings season has also underpinned Wall Street. So far, of the 425 S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly earnings, 74 per cent have topped analysts`forecast, CNBC quoted FactSet as saying.

On the economic front, the early November reading on consumer sentiment rose to 95.7 from 95.5 in October, beating market estimates, despite a slightly less favorable outlook of consumers for their own personal finances, according to a survey of consumers by the University of Michigan released on Friday.