Wall Street ends week on high note, Dow closes up 3.0%

Wall Street stocks finished sharply higher on Friday, closing out a second week of gains as US officials moved forward with plans to gradually reopen the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 700 points, or 3.0 percent, ending at 24,242.49. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.7 percent to 2,874.56, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.4 percent to 8,650.14.

Analysts pointed to a number of positive catalysts, including a report of promising research on a Gilead Sciences drug to treat coronavirus, Boeing's announcement that it will resume US commercial plane production and the release of a White House blueprint to reopen the economy.

In one of the first moves by a major US state, Texas Governor Greg Abbott approved retailers to employ a "to go" model that requires reopened stores to deliver items to customers' cars or homes. But Abbott said Texas schools would remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.

TD Ameritrade Chief Market Strategist J.J. Kinahan cautioned investors not to expect the recovery to come quickly.

"Investors seem optimistic that there's light at the end of the tunnel," Kinahan said. "Investors should be cautious though, as the 'getting going' might end up being slower than expected."