US stocks push higher as oil rebounds, banks rise

A strong rebound in oil prices and a government report indicating that retail sales improved last month helped lift U.S. stocks sharply higher in morning trading Friday. Financial and energy companies were among the biggest gainers as the stock market looked for its first gain in a week. Investors also had their eyes on the latest batch of company earnings news.KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 226 points, or 1.5 percent, to 15,886 as of 11:23 a.m. Eastern Time. The Standard &