U.S. stocks closed higher Friday notching a four-week gaining streak, boosted by releases of relatively positive corporate earnings reports and an upbeat business sentiment index in Germany.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70.65 points, or 0.51 percent, to 13,895.98. The broader Standard & Poor's 500-stock Index rallied 8.14 points, or 0.54 percent, to 1,502.96. The tech- heavy Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 19.33 points, or 0.62 percent, to 3,149.71.

For the week, the market was boosted by positive corporate earnings reports, upbeat economic data and adoption of a bill by the U.S. Congress to extend the debt ceiling. The Dow moved up 1.8 percent, and the S&P 500 jumped 1.1 percent to close above 1,500, not seen since December 2007 while the Nasdaq climbed 0.5 percent in the week.

U.S. stocks opened Friday on a strong note, bolstered by good earnings reports from Procter & Gamble and Starbucks, as well as strong European stocks thanks to an upbeat Ifo Business Climate Index out of Germany released Friday.

Procter & Gamble shares added 4.02 percent to 73.25 U.S. dollars after the company released its quarterly report before the opening bell, beating the market's estimates for earnings and revenue. Starbucks shares surged 4.10 percent to 56.81 dollars after the company disclosed its quarterly earnings in the morning, suggesting the coffee shop operator is seeing relative strength on revenue.

On the economic front, U.S. new home sales fell 7.8 percent in December to an annual rate of 369,000, significantly lower than expectations, according to data released by the U.S Commerce Department Friday. But the sales in 2012 still rose to the highest level since 2009.

Also on Friday, Apple shares extended losses after posting a lackluster earnings report late Wednesday, vacating the top spot as the most valuable public company to Exxon Mobil. Exactly one year ago, Apple overtook Exxon in market capitalization.

Microsoft shares edged up 0.90 percent to 27.88 dollars, one day after the software giant reported its quarterly earnings on Thursday's closing bell. The company's earnings were said to be a penny higher than analysts' forecasts.

AT&T shares gained 0.80 percent to 34.02 dollars, though the second largest U.S. mobile service provider posted the earnings report for the fourth quarter late Thursday, slightly missing market expectations. But its revenue rose faster than expected in the quarter.

Halliburton shares jumped 5.05 percent to 39.72 dollars after the world's second-largest oilfield services company reported that its profit fell 26 percent to 669 million dollars, or 0.72 dollars per share, which still topped analysts' estimates.