Both rallied Thursday, helping to push the S&P 500 up 1 percent to 2,147.26 as of 4 p.m.in NY. The gauge has slipped 2 percent since August 15, dragged down by losses of at least 3.7 percent for health-care and consumer stocks.
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The S&P 500 .SPX was up 15.35 points, or 0.72 percent, at 2,141.12 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 58.90 points, or 1.14 percent, at 5,232.67.
Futures on the S&P 500 traded firmly higher throughout the day.
Sept 16 Australian shares pushed higher on Friday, driven by banking stocks, with weak USA data dimming the chances of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next week.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 brushed off reports showing weaker-than expected retail sales and manufacturing output.
Steadying oil prices lifted energy companies after two days of losses.
Gains were offset by falls in energy stocks.
Exxon Mobil declined 0.72 per cent, the heaviest drag on the S&P 500.
At 10:17 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 110.84 points, or 0.61 percent, at 18,145.61. About 6.7 billion shares traded hands on USA exchanges, in line with the three-month average. A separate gauge showed wholesale prices were little changed last month, held back by a second straight month of lower costs for food and fuel.
“There’s nothing in these numbers that tells us rates should be heading up”, Mark Kepner, managing director and equity trader at Themis Trading LLC in Chatham, New Jersey, said by phone.
Qantas rallied 0.30 percent while telecommunication giant Telstra was 2.63 percent higher at Wednesday’s close.
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The market rose 0.2 per cent, as CBA surged by nearly two per cent after investment bank Goldman Sachs improved its rating on the lender to buy, citing value in the stock, IG market strategist Evan Lucas said. The CBOE Volatility Index dropped 10 percent Thursday to 16.30, falling from its highest level since the United Kingdom secession vote in June.
