U.S. stocks trade higher as data eyed

U.S. stocks traded higher on Friday, rebounding from Thursday's decline, as investors kept an eye on economic data.

At noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 115.51 points, or 0.65 percent, to 17,956.03. The S&P 500 increased 11.96 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,097.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index soared 28. 32 points, or 0.57 percent, to 4,969.74.

The manufacturing ISM index is coming out at 51.5 in April, unchanged from the previous month.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey showed a final read of 95.9, up from March's 93.0.

Construction spending data for March showed a decline of 0.6 percent.

U.S. stocks dropped Thursday as a spate of downbeat corporate results and mixed economic data revealed a recent downshift in the U.S. economy, dampening market sentiment.

In the week ending April 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 262,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. The latest reading was the lowest level in 15 years and below market consensus.

U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 0.2 percent in the first quarter this year, according to an advanced estimate released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The first quarter GDP showed a sharp slowdown from the fourth quarter's 2.2 percent pace and below expectations of 1 percent growth. Endite