Roundup: U.S. stocks rally as oil extends gains

U.S. stocks posted solid gains Friday, as further recovery in oil prices boosted investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 210.83 points, or 1.33 percent, to 16,093.51. The S&P 500 jumped 37.91 points, or 2.03 percent, to 1,906.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 119.12 points, or 2.66 percent, to 4,591.18.

Oil prices soared Friday, with both the U.S. oil and Brent crude spiking about 9 percent, as traders started to buy the dips despite persistent oversupply worries.

The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery moved up 2.66 U.S. dollars to settle at 32.19 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery increased 2.93 dollars to close at 32.18 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Meanwhile, hopes of stimulus in the euro zone also cheered Wall Street. The European Central Bank (ECB) held its key interest rates at record low levels on Thursday and planned to "reconsider" its monetary policy early March in a bid to lift weak inflation and stimulate the economy.

"It will therefore be necessary to review and possibly reconsider our monetary policy stance at our next meeting in early March," said ECB President Mario Draghi.

Analysts said Draghi's remarks suggested that the ECB is willing to offer more stimulus at its next meeting in March.

Overseas stock markets also saw broad-based rallies Friday. European equities ended sharply higher on ECB stimulus hopes and oil recovery, with French benchmark index CAC 40 jumping 3.10 percent.

In Asia, Tokyo shares rebounded from a 15-month low hit in the previous day and skyrocketed nearly 6 percent on Friday, while Chinese benchmark Shanghai Composite Index increased 1.25 percent to close at 2,916.56 points.

On the economic front, U.S. existing home sales in December jumped 14.7 percent to an annual rate of 5.46 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow rose 0.7 percent, and the S&P 500 gained 1.4 percent, while the Nasdaq advanced 2.3 percent.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, plunged 16.30 percent to end at 22.34 on Friday.

In other markets, the U.S. dollar gained against euro as Draghi's comments signaled further stimulus.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.56 percent at 99.573 in late trading.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell as U.S. equities rallied for the second day in a row.

The most active gold contract for February delivery dropped 1.9 dollars, or 0.17 percent, to settle at 1,096.3 dollars per ounce. Endit