Stocks Closed Wild Week with Subdued Gains

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, inspired by a strong rally in European markets, after one of the most volatile weeks in memory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 125.71 points, or 1.13%, to 11,269.02 and lost 1.5% for the week. The S&P 500 gained 6.17 points, or 0.53%, to 1,178.81, down 1.7% for the week. The Nadaq Composite advanced 15.30 points, or 0.61%, to 2,507.98, off 1% for the week.

A federal appeals court panel on Friday struck down the requirement in President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul package that virtually all Americans must carry health insurance or face penalties.

Italy’s government approved euro45.5 billion ($64.84 billion) Friday in an emergency austerity measures over two years to balance the budget by 2013 in response to demands by the European Central Bank.

A temporary halt to short trading helped European markets rally on Friday, but the number of remaining red flags in the Eurozone are likely to have a greater impact than than the day-to-day whims of the market. High Frequency Economics raised the alarm in a research note early Friday, urging investors to take a broader perspective on the situation in Europe.

Oil prices fell slightly Friday as mixed economic reports offered few clues about future energy demand. After gaining early, prices for benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended the day down 34 cents at $85.38 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.