U.S. stocks rallied Friday and were on track for weekly gains after fresh Greek economic proposals appeared to put Athens closer than ever to striking a bailout deal with its creditors.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) added 1.3 percent to 2,078.60. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) advanced 1.3 percent to 17,779.71, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) rose 1.7 percent to 5,003.00.
Greece’s latest proposal seemed closer to creditors’ demands and fueled hopes that the country will strike a deal to keep it in the eurozone. The 13-page plan for economic policy overhauls and budget cuts, which was submitted last night, will be assessed by eurozone finance ministers and European leaders over the weekend.
Sentiment was also buoyed today as stocks in China posted their first back-to-back gains since June 24 after the government banned insiders from selling stocks, with about half of listed companies halted.
MOVERS:
Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE:BABA) added 1.6 percent to $80.21, brushing aside a report that the Chinese e-commerce giant’s senior executive Patrick Liu is being held in police custody over corruption allegations related to his previous job at Tencent Holdings Ltd.
Barracuda Networks (NYSE:CUDA) tumbled 10.9 percent to $31.34. The cybersecurity and storage company said its net loss in the May quarter widened with expenses offsetting an 18 percent increase in revenue.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) climbed 2.8 percent to $123.42 after the iPhone maker fell for five straight sessions, the longest losing streak since January.
Gap (NYSE:GPS) fell 0.4 percent to $37.62 as the retailer said sales at established stores in June declined slightly more than expected, impacted by the stronger dollar and shipment delays.
Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) climbed 0.5 percent to $259.12 after the electric car maker hired former Burberry senior vice president Ganesh Srivats to help the electric-car maker extend its reputation for automotive luxury.
Zillow (NASDAQ:Z) fell 7.5 percent to $78.83 after the company said its chief financial officer is leaving the company to pursue other business interests.
Coty (NYSE:COTY) retreated 3.7 percent to $28.92. Wells Fargo downgraded Coty to "market perform" from "outperform," despite a positive view of Coty's purchase of Procter & Gamble's beauty products brands.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) advanced 2.4 percent to $142.84. The largest U.S. warehouse-club chain was upgraded to “outperform” from “perform” at Oppenheimer.
American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) added 4.1 percent to $41.28 after the carrier trimmed its domestic seating capacity growth plans for this year after declines in average fares.
Dover (NYSE:DOV) sank 2.9 percent to $65.32. The maker of equipment and components again cut its outlook for the year, citing weakness in the energy markets and general softness in capital spending.
FED:
In a midday speech in Cleveland, Fed Chairwoman Yellen said the central bank still planned to start raising short-term U.S. interest rates later this year for the first time in nearly a decade. Investors had been concerned that recent developments in Greece and China could delay a rate increase to next year.
OTHER MARKETS:
European stocks surged on hopes of a Greece deal. Germany’s DAX jumped 2.9 percent and France’s CAC-40 rallied 3.1 percent.
COMMODITIES:
August gold shed 0.1 percent to settle at $1,157.90 an ounce on Comex. Tracking the most-active contracts, prices lost about 0.5 percent for the week, for a third straight weekly loss.
U.S. crude futures settled down 4 cents at $52.74 a barrel. It rose more than $1 at its height and fell nearly 80 cents at its low.