Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose broadly on Friday ending a choppy, tumultuous week, amid optimism for a comprehensive deal between Greece and its international creditors over the weekend.
Boosted by a rally from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite index surged on Friday, each gaining more than 1.2% on the final day of trading this week. The S&P 500 Composite index also posted gains of more than 1%, as the major indices moved higher for the month of July.
U.S. equities pared some of the gains in afternoon trading after Janet Yellen reaffirmed that the Federal Reserve is on track to raise interest rates at some point this year. Speaking at a luncheon at The City Club in Cleveland, Yellen downplayed the importance of the Fed's first rate hike in more than a decade, preferring to focus on the gradual pace of policy normalization on a longer-term basis.
"I want to emphasize while there is a lot of public discussion on that first move we should not over emphasize the timing of that first move," Yellen said. "What is really going to matter is the entire path of interest rates over time. My own view is that the headwinds that have been holding back recovery for all these years are receding and conditions are improving."
While the Dow fell by roughly 15 points following Yellen's comments it still remained up by more than 200 points on the session before rallying even further near the close. The Dow closed the week at 17,760.41, up by 211.79 or 1.21% on Friday's session. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, soared to an intraday high of 5,008.05, experiencing its best one-day move since late-January, before falling back to 4,997.70, up 75.30 or 1.53% on the session.
The S&P 500 added 25.31 or 1.23% to 2,076.62, as stocks on all 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Consumer Services, Technology and Health Care sector led, each gaining more than 1.3%.
Apple finished as the top performer on the Dow on Friday, ending a five-day skid. While shares in Apple surged 3.21 or 2.67% to 123.28, the world's largest company still fell by more than 2% on the week. The worst performer was Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which gained 0.09 or 0.20% to 44.61. All 30 components of the Dow closed in the green.
Shares in Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) gained more than 1% to 194.19, after Dow Jones reported that the American global aerospace and defense firm could be nearing a deal with United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) to purchase its Sikorsky helicopter division. Shares in United Technologies rose 1.26 or 1.16% to 110.18.
The top performer on the NASDAQ was Avago Technologies, which gained 5.37 or 4.31% to 130.05. Avago finished just ahead of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NYSE:WBA), which rose 3.70 or 4.13% to 93.25, extending gains from earlier in the week. The worst performer was Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), which fell 10.55 or 2.64% to 388.74. Earlier, analysts warned Biogen shares could move sharply in either direction following the data release from its investigational Alzheimer's drug later this month.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC), which gained 1.87 or 7.53% to 26.72 after the Wall Street Journal reported that the cable giant could be searching for targets for acquisition. The worst performer was Noble, which fell 0.57 or 3.82% to 14.34.
Earnings season kicked off earlier this week as Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) and PepsiCo Inc (NYSE:PEP) reported better than expected sales. Investors await earnings releases from a host of prominent banks next week.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2,487 to 664 margin.