U.S. stocks closed higher Friday, with the Standard & Poor's 500 closing above 1,400 for the first time since the end of March and NASDAQ achieving its best week since February.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 23.69 points, or 0.18 percent, at 13,228.31. The S&P 500 was up 3.38 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,403.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 18.59 points, or 0.61 percent, to 3,069.20.

For the week, the blue-chip Dow rose 1.53 percent. The broader S&P 500 gained 1.80 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied 2.29 percent.

The uprising of equity market was because of investors' sentiments has been boosted by a strong round of earning reports. Technology shares got a strong boost Friday after the online retailer Amazon reported net income of 130 million dollars, or 28 cents a share in the first quarter. Its revenue jumped 34 percent to 13.18 billion dollars, far more than analysts'expectations. Amazon soared more than 15 percent Friday after the strong result and at least three major Wall Street firms raised their investment ratings to "buy" from "neutral" for the stock. Also leading the broader market higher, Expedia surged 25 percent to an all-time high after the travel booking website reported strong earnings late Thursday.

According to the Commerce Department, U.S. economic growth in the first quarter rose by an annualized 2.2 percent, which was below economists' expectations of 2.5 percent.

The gross domestic product growth in the first quarter was also below the central bank's expectation. The Federal Reserve said earlier this week it expected the U.S. economy to grow between 2.4 percent to 2.9 percent this year.

However, most investors remained bullish. Some expect the Fed to further ease monetary policy after the bank said it was ready to boost stimulus policy if the country's economy were weak enough.

In Europe, rating agency the Standard & Poor's cut Spain's long- term debt rate. But the action didn't have significant impact on the U.S. equity market.

As for other markets, the U.S. dollar continued to fall against other major currencies Friday as data showed the U.S. economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the first quarter.

U.S. crude oil price edged up Friday on a weaker dollar. Light, sweet crude for June delivery gained 38 cents, or 0.36 percent to settle at 104.93 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For this week, it rose 1.88 dollars, or 1.82 percent.

In London, pressured by the cuts of Spain's credit ratings, Brent crude for June delivery fell slightly by 9 cents to close at 119.83 dollars a barrel. For this week, it rose 1.07 dollars, or 0. 90 percent.