Stocks push higher after lackluster week

NEW YORK — Investors are shedding some of their caution about the economy.

Stocks rose Friday, following gains in markets overseas and a round of buying on Thursday. Better-than-expected economic data is suggesting that the U.S. economy might be in better shape than some investors had feared.

Trading volume was very heavy because of the occurrence of a quarterly “quadruple witching,” which marks the simultaneous expiration of a number of different options contracts. Stocks are more likely to push higher during such periods, which can also bring jumpy trading.

Traders drew some optimism from European Union leaders who said at a financial summit in Brussels that economic stimulus measures are cushioning the worst effects of the downturn. They said the steps would allow a sustainable economic recovery and that no new stimulus is needed right now.

Health care, technology and retail stocks led the market, while consumer staples and utilities lagged.

Oil prices rose, a possible sign investors expect economic activity will pick up and increase demand. Light, sweet crude rose 29 cents to $71.66 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 27.59, or 0.3 percent, to 8,583.19. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.06, or 0.6 percent, to 923.43 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 23.73, or 1.3 percent, to 1,831.45.

About three stocks rose for every two one fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a heavy 754.2 million shares, compared with 185.4 million shares traded at the same time Thursday.

Stocks rose moderately Thursday after sliding earlier in the week. A private research group said its Leading Economic Indicators index, a forecast of economic activity, rose more than expected in May. And the overall number of people drawing unemployment benefits fell last week for the first time since early January.

Investors have been concerned in the last two weeks that the economy won’t recover as quickly as hoped when traders bid stocks up as much as 40 percent in three months since early March.

Bond prices fell again after sliding Thursday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.86 percent from 3.81 percent late Thursday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.9 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.5 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.3 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.3 percent.

In corporate news, E-Trade Financial Corp. said a public offering of 435 million shares of common stock was priced at $1.10 apiece. The online brokerage and bank is trying to raise capital to shore up its balance sheet, which has been hit losses on mortgage loans. The stocks fell 21 cents, or 14.7 percent, to $1.22.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. reported a better-than-expected 33 percent increase in first-quarter earnings as the company continues to draw customers beyond corporate users. The stock fell $1.24 to $75.31.

In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 7.13, or 1.4 percent, to 516.65.