Wall Street edged higher on Friday despite concerns on Europe and China weighed the market.
Ireland appears likely to receive a loan to bolster its troubled banks, as officials from the country, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund negotiated a financial aid deal on Friday.
China's central bank on Friday ordered banks to set aside an additional 0.5 percent of their deposits from Nov. 29, the fifth such hike this year and the second increase this month.
The move aimed at reining in inflation, which surged to a two- year high last month, and preventing the economy from over-heating.
However, it spurred concerns in the U.S. equities market as investors feared that China would soon raise interest rate to further cool down the economy.
Defending a 600-billion-dollar bond purchase plan, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke blamed emerging nations for putting the global economy at risk by keeping their currencies artificially low.
However, emerging economies fear the Fed's move would not stimulate the U.S. economy, but drive hot money flooding to the global market and push inflation higher.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 22.32, or 0.20 percent, to 11,203.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.04 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,199.73 and the Nasdaq added 3.72 points, or 0. 15 percent, to 2,518.12.
Crude prices retreated on Friday. Light, sweet oil for December delivery fell 34 cents to settle at 81.51 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Ireland appears likely to receive a loan to bolster its troubled banks, as officials from the country, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund negotiated a financial aid deal on Friday.
China's central bank on Friday ordered banks to set aside an additional 0.5 percent of their deposits from Nov. 29, the fifth such hike this year and the second increase this month.
The move aimed at reining in inflation, which surged to a two- year high last month, and preventing the economy from over-heating.
However, it spurred concerns in the U.S. equities market as investors feared that China would soon raise interest rate to further cool down the economy.
Defending a 600-billion-dollar bond purchase plan, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke blamed emerging nations for putting the global economy at risk by keeping their currencies artificially low.
However, emerging economies fear the Fed's move would not stimulate the U.S. economy, but drive hot money flooding to the global market and push inflation higher.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 22.32, or 0.20 percent, to 11,203.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.04 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,199.73 and the Nasdaq added 3.72 points, or 0. 15 percent, to 2,518.12.
Crude prices retreated on Friday. Light, sweet oil for December delivery fell 34 cents to settle at 81.51 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
