Awwal 12, 1432, April 16, 2011, SPA -- U.S. stocks finished higher Friday, as investors received positive news about inflation and consumer sentiment. In world markets, Asian markets ended mixed, with the Nikkei in Japan falling 0.7 percent, while European stocks closed higher, led by the FTSE 100 in Britain rising 0.5 percent. Investors also considered the latest economic data from China, showing that the world's second-largest economy grew at a 9.7 percent pace year-over-year in the first quarter. In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said that its Consumer Price Index showed prices rising 0.5 percent in March. While inflation data met economist forecasts, core CPI-which does not include volatile food and energy prices-came in lower than expected, rising 0.1 percent during the month. Investors also welcomed a positive U.S. economic report from the University of Michigan, whose consumer sentiment index rose to a reading of 69.6 in April from 67.5 in March. --MORE
