The S & P 500 was 0.2% higher in morning trading, coming off its fifth winning week in the last six, and flitting around its record set on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 3 points, or less than 0.1%, after setting its own record Friday. The Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher, as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern time.

Shares rolled higher in Asia on Thursday after U.S. stocks edged back from their records. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained more than 2% and U.S. futures and oil prices also advanced. The rally in Asia followed an announcement that the Chinese government plans to give cash handouts or discount vouchers to the poor ahead of next week's National Day holidays.

Wall Street is trading higher before the opening bell, following global markets that surged on reports that China plans to spend billions of dollars to help rebuild the capital of state-run banks and