Wall Street adds to Fed-driven rally as financials gain

Fed's tempered view on interest rates, a weakened dollar, rising oil prices whetted investors' risk appetite

Wall Street rose on Friday, pushing the S&P 500 into positive territory for 2016, as the Fed's tempered view on interest rates, a weakened dollar and rising oil prices whetted investors' risk appetite.

The Dow Jones industrial average extended gains for 2016, helped by a 2% increase in Goldman Sachs.

Volumes were slightly higher than usual on account of "quadruple witching," the expiry of options on stocks and indexes as well as futures on indexes and stocks.

Crude oil rebounded to fresh 2016 highs on strong seasonal demand and hopes that major oil producers would reach a deal to freeze output.

"There's been some nervousness taken out of the market by the Fed making their comments," said Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager with Hodges Funds in Dallas.

"All in all, I think it's setting up for a very good day," he said. 

At 9:44 a.m. ET (1344 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was up 68.66 points, or 0.39%, at 17,550.15, the S&P 500 was up 5.92 points, or 0.29%, at 2,046.51 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 9.83 points, or 0.21%, at 4,784.82.

Seven of the 10 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 1.08% rise in the financials sector.

Bank of America and JPMorgan were up about 2.5% after they announced share buyback programs. JPMorgan gave the biggest boost to the S&P 500.

With the Fed being cautious over rate hikes, investors will now keep a close eye on global economic and financial market conditions to gauge the impact of overseas weakness on U.S. economy and earnings growth.

US data on Friday includes a preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, which is expected at 92.2 for March, improving from a final reading of 91.7 last month. The report is due at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT).

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard, FOMC voting members, are scheduled to speak at separate events through the day.

Shares of Adobe were up 6.3% at $95.60 after the Photoshop maker raised its full-year profit and revenue forecasts above expectations. The stock gave the biggest boost to the Nasdaq.

Wynn Resorts rose 6.6% to $94.67 after Deutsche Bank raised its price target on the stock.

Columbia Pipeline was up 6.7% at $25.08 after TransCanada said it would buy the company for $10.2 billion.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,038 to 669. On the Nasdaq, 1,681 issues rose and 648 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 35 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 54 new highs and 24 new lows.