The gains weren't limited to stocks, though, with gold futures closing above the $3,000 per ounce mark for the first time.

It had dropped in five of the prior six days after weaker-than-expected reports on the economy and worries about President Donald Trump’s tariffs knocked the index off its all-time high set last week.

Wall Street was poised to open with healthy gains on Friday, but nowhere near enough to make up for the losses that have piled up in recent weeks as anxious investors flee for safer holdings in the midst of an escalating U.