Stocks soar on Black Friday; tech leads the way (3)

Wal-Mart rose US$1.31, or 1.9 percent, to US$70.20. Macy's gained 72 cents, or 1.8 percent, to US$41.73.

Trading volume on Wall Street was light, with many investors away for an extended weekend after Thanksgiving. The rally's strength will be tested on Monday, as many traders return to their desks and retailers begin to release hard data about their holiday sales results, Kinahan said.

"It's great when something like this happens, but on a half-day without the major players in there, it's not so surprising," he said.

European indexes added to earlier gains after Wall Street opened and closed higher. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares rose 0.5 percent. Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 both added 0.9 percent.

Investors were monitoring developments in Brussels, where European Union leaders are trying to agree on a US$1.25 trillion long-term spending plan for the 27-nation bloc. Markets expect that another meeting will be needed for an agreement.

Among the stocks making big moves:

- MAP Pharmaceuticals spiked after the company announced that the Food and Drug Administration will review its experimental migraine drug Levadex. The stock rose US$2.60, or 20.3 percent, to US$15.42.

- KIT Digital Inc., a video software and technology company, lost two-thirds of its value after the company's former chief executive accused it of blaming prior management for its financial problems. Two days earlier, KIT said it would restate its financial results because of accounting errors. The stock lost US$1.33, or 64.3 percent, to 74 cents.

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