New Delhi, March 15 -- U.S. equities followed European stocks higher on Friday to end a bumpy week on a positive note, although safe-haven gold hit a record high with investors still showing some signs of anxiety about the economic impact of tariffs.

German government bond yields and the euro rose on Friday, with German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz saying he had secured crucial backing from the Greens for a massive increase in state borrowing.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 674.62 points, or 1.65%, at 41,488.19 while the S&P 500 rose 117.42 points, or 2.13%, to 5,638.94 for its biggest one-day percentage gain since Nov. 6, the day after the U.S. election.

The benchmark S&P index had finished Thursday...