Wall Street posts strongest weekly gains in months

NEW YORK (AA) – Wall Street closed higher Friday, posting its biggest weekly gain in months.

The Dow Jones rose 45 points to end at 17,873 points. The S&P 500 was up 9 points to close at 2,099, while the Nasdaq gained 32 points to 4,933.

The Dow gained 2.1 percent for the week -- the S&P 2.2 percent and the Nasdaq soared 3.3 percent.

The jump in weekly gains was influenced by the rally in oil prices. Crude oil benchmarks climbed above the critical threshold of $50 a barrel on Thursday -- its highest level in last 7 months -- before retreating Friday.

West Texas Intermediate fell back to $49.51 at the close of markets and Brent crude declined to $49.44.