Stock markets mostly rose Friday as slowing US and European inflation raised hopes of more aggressive interest rate cuts and China took measures to boost its struggling economy.
All major European markets closed higher, locking in strong gains for the week.
In New York, the Dow and the wider S&P were higher in morning trading, with further gains held back by strong advances in previous sessions.
Earlier, the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets finished the week more than 10 percent higher, with Shanghai seeing its strongest weekly gain since 2008.
The US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which strips out volatile food and energy costs and is closely watched by the US Federal Reserve, rose 0.1 percent in August from the previous month. It was below analyst expectations.