Stocks Closed Higher, Posted Strong Quarterly Gains

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, as worries about Deutsche Bank subsided. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 164.70 points, or 0.91%, to 18,308.15. The S&P 500 gained 17.14 points, or 0.80%, to 2,168.27. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 42.85 points, or 0.80%, to 5,312.00. All three benchmarks logged their strongest quarterly gains since December 2015, The Dow posted a quarterly gains of 2.1%. The S&P advanced 3.3%. The Nasdaq Composite posted a 9.7% advance.

Consumer confidence rose in September for the first time in four months as Americans grew more upbeat about the prospects for incomes and persistent low inflation.The University of Michigan said Friday that its final index of sentiment rose to 91.2 from 89.8 in August.

Oil futures finished higher Friday, with prices in New York logging a second-straight monthly gain, but suffering from the first quarterly loss of the year. November West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 41 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $48.24 a barrel. The November Brent crude contract fell 18 cents, or 0.4%, to end at $49.06 a barrel.

According to a report by Wall Street Journal, leading chipset maker, Qualcomm is reportedly in talks to acquire NXP semiconductors, in a deal likely be valued at more than $30 billion.