US stocks have opened with solid gains as the rally that began midday on Thursday picked up momentum following strong trading in Europe and some solid earnings reports at home.

Five minutes into trade on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 16,276.34, up 159.10 points (0.99 per cent).

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 18.76 (1.01 per cent) to 1,881.52, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 50.08 (1.19 per cent) to 4,267.47.

World equity markets have been on edge all week amid worries over the European economy and the Ebola virus. But stocks steadied somewhat mid-session Thursday. On Friday, equity markets in Britain, France and Germany all rose at least one per cent.

Thursday’s performance suggests the sell-off “is at, or near, an exhaustion point,” said Patrick O’Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.

Earnings from General Electric and Morgan Stanley bested expectations, while results from Google fell short.