U.S. stocks closed up Friday on optimism that officials in Cyprus will reach a deal this weekend to rescue the nation's troubled banks. In international economic news, officials in Cyprus could make decisions on “the hard dilemmas" facing the country later Friday, according to a government spokesman. Cyprus is facing a Monday deadline to come up with €5.8 billion in order to secure a €10 billion bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Talks between Russian officials and the Cypriot government broke up early Friday, with no agreement on a cash infusion that could help the island nation skirt a default. Nearly a third of the money in Cyprus' outsized banking sector is from Russian depositors. The Ifo Business Climate Index for German manufacturing and trade slipped in March, as companies lost enthusiasm about their business outlook. But the index also showed that Europe's strongest economy continues to prevail, buoyed by domestic spending. Construction is at its strongest point since reunification of East and West Germany, more than 20 years ago. In corporate news, shares of Micron Technology spiked higher after the company's earnings blew past estimates, sparking a slew of analyst upgrades. Shares of British Petroleum rose after the oil giant said it was moving ahead with plans to buy back up to $8 billion of stock after completing the sale of its 50 percent stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft. Nike shares surged after the apparel giant reported quarterly earnings on Thursday that beat expectations. Tiffany's stock jumped after the jewelry retailer reported a jump in quarterly profit. Shares of BlackBerry fell nearly 8 percent, reversing gains from earlier in the week. The company's new Z10 smartphone, which has received mixed reviews, went on sale at AT&T stores in the United States Friday. The dollar fell versus the euro, the pound, and the yen. Light sweet crude oil for May delivery gained $1.26 to $93.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold dropped $7.70 to $1,606.10 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 90.54, or 0.63 percent, to 14,512.03. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 11.09, or 0.72 percent, to 1,556.89. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index moved up 22.40, or 0.70 percent, to 3,245.00.
