US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as markets analyzed the latest economic data and the International Monetary Fund's upgraded 2025 growth outlook for the world's largest economy.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.8% at 19,691.3 after midday Friday, while the S&P 500 rose 1.3% to 6,011.4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1% to 43,578.7. Barring health care, all sectors were in the green, led by consumer discretionary.

US markets will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In economic news, US housing starts climbed more than expected last month as multi-family projects logged sharp gains sequentially, government data showed.

"Homebuilding activity is expected to trend higher in 2025, but elevated uncertainty related to fiscal policy and its impact on the decisions of the Federal Reserve will likely keep activity subdued over the near-term," TD Economics said.

US industrial production rose more than projected in December, while the pace of manufacturing output accelerated, according to Fed data.

The IMF increased its global and US economic growth expectations for this year, but said the balance of risks to the overall outlook is tilted to the downside in the medium term.

Potential growth in demand and shrinking supply would reignite price pressures in the US, though its impact on near-term economic output would be unclear, IMF Economic Counsellor Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said. "Higher inflation would prevent the (Fed) from cutting interest rates and could even require rate hikes that would in turn strengthen the dollar and widen US external deficits."

The US two-year yield rose 2.8 basis points to 4.27% intraday, while the 10-year rate was little changed at 4.61%.

In company news, Intel (INTC) shares were up 8.7%, the top gainer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Schlumberger (SLB) was the second-best performer on the S&P 500, up 8.1%, after the oilfield services company's fourth-quarter results came in above Wall Street's estimates.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services' (JBHT) shares were down 6.2%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500. Late Thursday, the transportation and logistics company's fourth-quarter earnings missed the Street expectations.

The US Supreme Court upheld a law that would force China-based ByteDance to either sell TikTok by Sunday or face a US ban for the short-video app.

"My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation," US President-elect Donald Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump is scheduled to take office Monday.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.4% at $78.35 a barrel intraday.

Gold fell 0.1% to $2,747.60 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 1.8% to $31.15 per ounce.