Sentiment also was buoyed after European leaders expressed confidence that new austerity measures planned by Greece would be enough to pull the country out of its debt crisis and make any bailout unnecessary.

the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares advanced for a sixth straight session to close up 1.8 percent at 1,054.55 points. It was the index's biggest weekly advance in nearly eight months.

Banks were the top gainers in Europe, with the STOXX Europe 600 banking index rising 3.1 percent, its biggest one-day gain in four months.

In the United States, diversified manufacturer 3M Co gained 1.4 percent after the Labor Department report showed the manufacturing sector added 1,000 jobs in February.

Shortly after midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 83.82 points, or 0.80 percent, at 10,527.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 11.03 points, or 0.98 percent, at 1,134.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 25.62 points, or 1.12 percent, at 2,317.93.

Oil rose to a seven-week high above $82 a barrel, copper rose 3 percent and gold edged toward $1,140 an ounce after the dollar weakened against the euro.

The Japanese currency also dropped versus the euro and higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars as the data encouraged investors to buy risky assets funded by cheaply borrowed yen.

The euro was up 0.15 percent at $1.3599 and against the yen, the dollar was up 1.53 percent at 90.43.

The dollar was flat against a basket of major currencies, with the US Dollar Index at 80.558.

In Europe, Greek government debt outperformed Bunds after Greece's 5 billion euro bond issue on Thursday was snapped up by investors.

The Bund future was down 20 ticks at 124.09 in after hours trading.

The VDAX-NEW volatility index, a gauge of investor sentiment in Europe, hit its lowest level in nearly two years.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was down 22/32 in price to yield 3.69 percent.

US light sweet crude oil rose $1.35 percent to $81.56 a barrel, after earlier hitting $82.07.

Spot gold prices rose $3.40 to $1,135.00 an ounce. Brent crude for April advanced $1.38 to $79.92 a barrel.