Wall Street swung between losses and gains and closed near the session's highs on Friday, as commodity stocks rose on oil spike and metal advance, Xinhua reported.
Commodity stocks led the big board higher, as crude oil climbed above 66 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, heading for its biggest monthly gain in 10 years.
Investors also digested mixed economic data. The U.S. Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product sank at a 5.7- percent pace in the first quarter. The reading was slightly less deep than the 6.1-percent annualized decline first estimated last month. But the new reading was worse than the 5.5-percent annualized drop economists had expected.
In addition, the University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment showed a larger-than-expected increase in May. But the index from Chicago-area purchasing executives showed an unexpected decrease of business activities in May.
General Motors Corp., the biggest U.S. auto maker, dipped below one dollar per share, as investors sell off its shares on speculation the company will apply for bankruptcy protection next Monday.
The Dow Jones rose 96.53, or 1.15 percent, to 8,500.33. Broader indexes also moved up. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12.31, or 1.36 percent, to 919.14, and the Nasdaq rose 22.54, or 1.29 percent, to 1,774.33.
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