Wall Street was boosted on Thursday by an announcement that the United States economy grew 2.5% in the year to June.
Data issued by the Commerce Department showed the economy grew more quickly than expected due to a surge in exports. Weekly jobless claims also fell.
Housing and building stocks enjoyed a rally, as confidence in the recovery grows.
The Dow Jones Index gained 16 points to close at 14,840, the S&P 500 gained 4 points to 1639 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 26 points to 3620.
The FTSE 100 index in London was up 0.82%, the DAX in Frankfurt was up 0.45% and the CAC-40 in Paris was up 0.65%.
Brent crude Oil was trading at $US118.82 cents per barrel and gold was trading at $US1413. 51 per ounce.
The New Zealand dollar on Friday morning was trading at 77.65 US cents.
