Wall Street rises but investors see more volatility
US stocks gained after a week of heightened volatility, but investors were reluctant to make big bets due to turmoil in the Middle East and Japan's nuclear crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 83.93 points, or 0.71 percent, at 11,858.52. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 5.49 points, or 0.43 percent, at 1,279.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 7.62 points, or 0.29 percent, at 2,643.67.
European shares edged higher after the Group of Seven nations' intervention to weaken the yen and Libya's move to halt military action helped boost investor sentiment.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares rose 0.2 percent to close at 1,088.82 points. Volume was high, at more than 165 percent of the 90-day average for the index, boosted by "quadruple witching."
Japanese shares jumped nearly 3 percent and the yen tumbled on Friday after the Group of Seven agreed on rare joint intervention to curb the soaring currency and calm markets jittery over Japan's nuclear power plant crisis.
The move by the G7 to support the country as Japan struggles to cope with its biggest crisis since World War Two comes a day after the yen soared to a record 76.25 in chaotic trading.
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