By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Stocks on Wall Street rose Friday,
sending the Dow industrials back above 14,000, following strong
trade data from China and the U.S.
Trading volume was likely to be thin as a massive blizzard was
forecast to bear down on the Northeast. A spokesman for the NYSE
Euronext's (NYX) New York Stock Exchange said trading will proceed
as usual Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) climbed 61 points, or
0.4%, to 14,004 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (SPX)
gained 7.8 points, or 0.5%, to 1,517.
The Nasdaq Composite index (RIXF) advanced 26 points, or 0.8%,
to 3,191.
Economic data captured Wall Street's attention on Friday.
The U.S. trade deficit fell almost 21% in December to $38.5
billion, marking the biggest drop in four years, as exports rose
and imports softened. In China, exports and imports accelerated at
a faster-than-expected rate in January, according to official
data.
In the meantime, the Northeast, including New York city, was
bracing for a major blizzard, which is expected to reach maximum
intensity on Saturday morning. Thousands of flights have been
grounded.
In corporate news, McDonald's Corp. (MCD) said its global
comparable sales in January fell 1.9%.
Shares of LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) rallied more than 19% after the
professional social network reported better-than-expected
fourth-quarter earnings and revenue.
Moody's Corp. (MCO) reported a 66% surge in fourth-quarter
earnings on solid revenue. The firm is part of a probe by the New
York Attorney General into the agency's rating of mortgage-backed
securities ahead of the financial crisis, according to the Wall
Street Journal. Shares fell 4%.
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