Stocks closed out their second straight week of gains with a rally on Friday sparked after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned, easing tension around the region for now.

The S&P's five-month surge, which has taken it up almost 27 percent, has confounded those calling for a correction, but weak volume undercuts the unfailingly bullish direction in equities.

Financials led on the back of the reduced uncertainty, rising throughout the trading day.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 43.97 points, or 0.36 percent, at 12,273.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 7.28 points, or 0.55 percent, at 1,329.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 18.99 points, or 0.68 percent, at 2,809.44.

For the week, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 each gained 1.4 percent while the Dow rose 1.5 percent.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Egypt