U.S. stocks rose solidly on Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Traders were encouraged by positive economic news from Germany and China, two engines of global growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 121 points at 12,957 after an hour of trading, on track for its best weekly percentage gain since early June. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 13 to 1,404. The Nasdaq composite index gained 31 to 2,957.

German business confidence rose unexpectedly in November after six straight declines, a closely watched survey showed, raising hopes that Europe's largest economy can continue to weather the continent's financial crisis.