US stocks advanced modestly on Friday, extending gains after the best two-day run for the benchmark S&P 500 in three years was sparked by the Federal Reserve's most recent policy statement. The S&P had climbed 4.5 percent over the previous two sessions, spurred by the US Federal Reserve's commitment to take a "patient" approach toward raising interest rates, while signalling it was on track to boost rates in 2015. That provided clarity and relief to investors over the policy outlook, analysts said.
The S&P 500 has risen more than 3 percent this week, putting it on track for its best weekly performance in two months. This index has erased nearly all of the losses from the prior week, which were spurred by a sharp drop in oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 20.53 points, or 0.12 percent, to 17,798.68, the S&P 500 gained 5.84 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,067.07 and the Nasdaq Composite added 12.54 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,760.93. US-listed shares of Blackberry dropped 6.4 percent to $9.43 after the company posted a small adjusted third-quarter profit and returned to positive cash flow, but revenue declined more than expected.