Markets Soar As European Fears Dim

• DJIA up 259.89 (+2.19%) to 12,153.68
• S&P 500 up 24.16 (+1.95%) to 1,263.85
• Nasdaq up 53.60 (+2.04%) to 2,678.75

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

• Nikkei up 0.16%.
• Hang Seng up 0.9%.
• FTSE-100 up 1.8%.

Stocks soared in Friday's regular session, with the major U.S. averages adding about 2% each and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq returning to the black for 2011. Bulls were in clear command throughout the day as Italy's latest moves to approve austerity measures and new leadership in Greece cooled some of the eurozone debt worries while a gauge of U.S. consumer confidence came in better-than-expected.

Looking forward to next week, developments in Italy and Greece will remain a concern for U.S. traders as will a run of earnings from major retailers. On the earnings front, J.C. Penney (JCP) and Lowe's (LOW) report results on Monday, followed by Agilent (A), Dell (DELL), Home Depot (HD) and Wal-Mart (WMT) on Tuesday. Applied Materials (AMAT), NetApp (NTAP) and Target (TGT) post financials on Wednesday, with Marvel Technology (MRVL), Salesforce.com (CRM) and GameStop (GME) releasing quarterly numbers on Thursday. Ann Inc. (ANN) and H.J. Heinz (HNZ) are slated to issue results on Friday.

On the economic front, PPI, retail sales, Empire manufacturing and business inventories data are due on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we'll see CPI data, industrial production/capacity utilization, the NAHB housing market index, and crude inventories. Initial claims, housing starts and the Philadelphia Fed will be released on Thursday, followed by leading indicators on Friday.

In today's U.S. economic data, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment rose to 64.2 in November compared with an October reading of 60.9. That increase is better than the 63 reading economists had expected.

That provided a lift to retailers, which are gearing up for the all-important holiday shopping season. Wal-Mart Stores, Target, Best Buy (BBY) and TJX Companies (TJX) were all higher on Friday.

Late Thursday, Walt Disney Co. (DIS) reported fourth quarter revenue of $10.42 billion, which topped analysts' average estimate of $10.36 billion as gauged by Thomson Reuters. Earnings per share were $0.58 compared to expectations of $0.54 per share. Disney shares spiked in the extended session and into Friday's session, with trades topping a 7% gain.

Overseas, the dramatic events that shaped the week in Europe appear to be settling down - at least for the short term. Italian lawmakers appeared set to approve 2012 budget measures over the weekend, potentially clearing the way for the formal resignation of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the naming of a new coalition government headed by economist and former European Commissioner Mario Monti, according to news reports. Monti is widely considered to be a technocrat who will go about the business of implementing budget action.

In company news:

Shares of Citigroup (C) were higher while the Financial Times reported that the bank will get $4.1 billion from its sale of recording house EMI after a deal agreed to by Universal and Sony.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) shares edged up after it announced a technology transfer agreement with the Brazilian Ministry of Health to expand access to its HIV treatment Reyataz in Brazil. The agreement is designed to build the capacity and skills required for the Brazilian government to produce a sustainable, high quality supply of atazanavir and will enable the government to become, over time, the sole source of atazanavir in Brazil.

Shares of Google (GOOG) were higher as the company is reportedly planning to unveil a television running Google software at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, according to a Bloomberg report.

ConocoPhillips (COP) was up while The Wall Street Journal reported that China's State Oceanic Administration said in a statement Friday that a ConocoPhillips unit violated development plans at its oil field in China's Bohai Bay.

Commodities finished higher as crude oil futures advanced along with the broader equities markets and gold was helped by a weaker U.S. dollar.

Light, sweet crude oil for December delivery finished up 1.2% to $98.99 a barrel. In other energy futures, heating oil was up 1.75% to $3.15 a gallon while natural gas was down 0.08% to $3.64 per million British thermal units.

Meanwhile, gold futures finished higher after slumping in the prior session as investors sought relative bargains in the metal.

Gold for December delivery finished up 1.6% to $1,788.10 an ounce. In other metal futures, silver was down 1.43% to $33.87 a troy ounce while copper was down 2.54% to $3.35.

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) NVDA continues evening gain that followed earnings beat.

(+) DIS continues evening gain that followed earnings beat.

(+) CAT building new plant; confirms Asian expansion.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) KW prices shares.

(-) DHI issues mixed results.

(-) ANX selling stock.

(-) MCP continues evening drop that followed Q3 miss.

(-) ETFC company won't pursue sale