NEW YORK, April 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.79 percent to 49,447.43. The S&P 500 added 1.2 percent to 7,126.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.52 percent to 24,468.48.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with consumer discretionary and industrials leading the gainers by going up 1.97 percent and 1.82 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and utilities led the laggards by dropping 2.94 percent and 0.42 percent, respectively.
