US markets find traction Friday

U.S. stock markets headed higher Friday as leaders from Germany, Spain, Italy and France met to discuss options to salvage the euro. The leaders met as a precursor to an EU summit scheduled for late June. Investors also reacted to news Moody's Investors Services had downgraded the credit rating of 15 global banks. But that news had been long anticipated. Financial firms on the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average held up well, considering. American Express Co. shares rose 0.53 percent, while Bank of America shares lost 0.13 percent. JPMorgan Chase & Co. shares gained 0.71 percent. In early afternoon trading on Wall Street, the DJIA, which lost 250 points Thursday, added 59.04 points or 0.47 percent to 12,632.61. The Nasdaq composite index, off 71 points Thursday, gained back 16.87 points or 0.59 percent to 2,875.96. The Standard and Poor's 500 gained 5.12 points or 0.39 percent to 1,330.63 after dropping 30 points Thursday. The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 14/32 to yield 1.664 percent. The euro fell to $1.2539 from Thursday's $1.2541. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 80.54 yen from 80.29 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.29 percent, 25.72 points, to 8,798.35. In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.95 percent, 52.67 points, to 5,513.69.