1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks rise amid mixed data

U.S. stocks rose Friday on a rebound in healthcare and technology stocks, amid a mixed bag of economic data from the country.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 183.54 points, or 1.03 percent, to 18,024.06. The S&P 500 was up 22.78 points, or 1.09 percent, to 2,108.29. The Nasdaq increased 63.97 points, or 1.29 percent, to 5,005.39.

The gains in U.S. shares came maid data showing that construction spending fell in March to a six-month low, while ISM data showed manufacturing growth held at its slowest in almost two years in April.

The manufacturing ISM index came out at 51.5 in April, unchanged from the previous month. Construction spending data for March showed a decline of 0.6 percent.

A jump in consumer sentiment in April, however, and robust jobless-claims report suggested the economy was finding some footing and supported the dollar.

In the corporate news, Gilead Sciences'share rose 4.5 percent after its profit soared thanks to sales of its two key hepatitis C drugs.

Expedia stock also gained 7.9 percent after posting better-than- expected first-quarter revenue.

In the week ended 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.

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.

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