Friday brings U.S. retail sales and new rules designed to prevent 'flash crash'

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks raced higher Thursday in Wall Street's strongest performance since late May after a German court declined to immediately block the country's contribution to the effort to prevent defaults in the euro zone.

"What really lifted the stock market was the German supreme court, which has at least delayed the lawsuit by a German lawmaker, helping risky assets in the short term," said John Brady, senior vice president at MF Global.

Brady cautioned the court decision is a preliminary one. "The case is by no means thrown out," he said. .

In its third largest point and percent gain for 2010, the Dow Jones Industrial Average [$INDU] rose 273.28 points, or 2.8%, to 10,172.53, with equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. [CAT] leading the gains that stretched to include all but one -- technology giant Cisco Systems Inc. [CSCO] -- of its 30 components.

Caterpillar gained 5.5% while Cisco shares fell less than 0.1%.

The S&P 500 Index [$SPX] climbed 31.15 points, or 3%, to 1,086.84, with energy shares fronting sector gains after dropping sharply on Wednesday on worries about BP PLC [BP] and its viability in the wake of its massive oil spill.

Shares of BP were up 12% from a 14-year low, while Anadarko Petroleum Corp. [APC] , which holds a stake in the rig involved in the spill, also rose 12%.

Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. [GS] fell to a 52-week low on mounting legal troubles tied to the Wall Street firm's sale of collateralized debt obligations. .

The Nasdaq Composite Index [COMP] advanced 59.86 points, or 2.8%, to 2,218.71.

Unlike recent sessions, the major stock indexes did not reverse course late in the session.

"I don't think we'll get the fade today, but rather tomorrow," said Brady, who believes investors may take risks off the table ahead of the weekend, given the market has been dominated by geopolitical events largely taking places overseas and often on Sunday.

Gold prices retreated $7.70, or 0.6%, to end at $1,222.20 an ounce. Oil rose to end above $75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Seven stocks advanced for every one falling on the New York Stock Exchange, where more than 1.3 billion shares traded. Composite volume neared 5.4 billion.

New rules

On Friday, new rules go into effect that will allow the Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulation authority to halt trading of some stocks if the price moves 10% or more within five minutes.

Friday also brings U.S. economic data, including retail sales for May and the preliminary University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment index for June.

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