U.S. markets rose on Friday after positive economic reports that boosted investor sentiment to recover losses from the previous session, with benchmark indexes set to record their fourth straight week of gains and close at another set of record highs. 

Gold prices on the Comex continued to slide Friday, with the yellow metal trading down for the seventh consecutive session, the commodity’s most protracted series of losses since early 2009. The most active market, gold for June delivery, dropped as low as $1357.60 per ounce in intraday trading, from an open of $1385.20, shedding almost two per cent.

Notwithstanding the controversy, the IPO was the biggest in Internet history. Facebook raised $16 billion, also ranking it as the third highest IPO in U.S. history.  It's a feat beyond what Zuckerberg, who claims he never wanted to actually run a company in the first place, ever dreamed.

Canadian shares gained a second day as energy producers climbed after positive economic reports from the U.S., the country's largest trading partner, indicated economic growth is gaining momentum, outweighing declines in mining stocks. The resource-heavy benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) added 0.4 percent to 12,557.31 at 12:33 p.m. in Toronto on Friday. Nine of ten groups gained.