U.S. stock market indexes rose in Friday's midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent while the NASDAQ gained 1.3 percent.

European stock markets were higher at the close of trading. London's Financial Times 100 index rose seven-tenths of a percent to end at 5,990. The CAC-40 in Paris moved up six-tenths of a percent to finish at 4,007, while the DAX in Frankfurt rose six-tenths of a percent to 7,419.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained half a percent , to close at 9,868. Hong Kong markets were closed for a holiday.

The price of gold fell $16 to trade at $1,484.03 an ounce.

The dollar was higher against the yen but lost value compared to the euro.