DHAKA: US markets closed up on Friday as the government revised its figures for economic growth higher and consumer sentiment rose.

The markets shook off comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen that interest rates should rise in the coming months.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 44.9 points to 17873.2, the BBC publishes this report on Saturday (May 28).

The S&P 500 index gained 8.96 points to 2099.06, while the tech-focused Nasdaq index rose 31.74 points to 4933.5.

Speaking at Harvard University, Yellen said if the economy continued to improve as she expected, the central bank would raise rates in the coming months. The Fed's next meeting is in June.

‘The market is giving permission to the Fed to raise rates,’ said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank. ‘We’ll see what actually happens when they do’.

On Friday, US Commerce Department revised its estimate for first quarter growth up to 0.8%, from the sluggish 0.5% originally estimated.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, was up 1.2% after winning a court battle against Oracle. Oracle had alleged Google unfairly used parts of its code in its Android operating system.

Specialty drug company Flexion Therapeutics fell 9.8% a day despite receiving positive guidance from the Food and Drug Administration.

Shares in the company reached a three-month high on Thursday after the FDA gave Flexion its blessing to seek approval for a new treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee.

Monday is a holiday in the US and stock markets will be closed.

BDST: 1128 HRS, MAY 28, 2016
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