Wall Street racks up 2nd week of gains on Europe

US stocks scored their first back-to-back weekly gains since early July on Friday, on strong Google earnings and as investors kept riding the optimism for a solution to the euro zone's debt crisis.

The gains put the Dow industrials and the Nasdaq back into positive territory for the year, marking a dramatic reversal from two weeks ago, when the threat of a Greek default and sour US data had buyers running from the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 166.36 points, or 1.45 percent, at 11,644.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 20.92 points, or 1.74 percent, at 1,224.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 47.61 points, or 1.82 percent, at 2,667.85.

European shares rose to register three straight weeks of gains, buoyed by earnings news and strong U.S. retail sales data, with chartists seeing major resistance levels coming into view for testing next week.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares was up 1 percent at 975.52 points, reversing Thursday's fall to resume the October rally that has added 5.6 percent, so far.

The Nikkei stock average slipped from a one-month high today, as weak earning results from JPMorgan Chase & Co highlighted worries that strains in the global banking system could hamper growth.

The Nikkei shed 0.9 percent to 8,747.96 in relatively thin trade, although it managed to stay above its 25-day moving average of 8,645. It hit a one-month high of 8,854 on yesterday.