Stocks rose on Friday as investors snapped up shares of multinational companies, including McDonald's Corp, on hopes that a weaker dollar would underpin profitability.

Shares of energy companies such as Chevron Corp also boosted the broader market on bets that overseas demand would support energy prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 68.42 points, or 0.83 percent, to 8,360.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 6.60 points, or 0.74 percent, to 894.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> climbed 11.27 points, or 0.66 percent, to 1,706.52.

Earlier Friday, the dollar hit its lowest level this year as investors fretted over the indebtedness of the United States and the outlook for the nation's credit rating.

Investors are coming to a realization that interest rates are heading higher and the dollar is going to be under pressure, said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc, an investment advisory firm based in Toledo, Ohio.

Energy is moving as China continues to stockpile and buy all the commodities they can. I think you have that play of a weaker dollar and stronger commodities right now. Multinationals are going to be big plays, anybody doing anything overseas.

A weaker dollar makes some U.S. assets more appealing to some investors, and multinationals benefit when they convert overseas earnings into dollars.

Chevron jumped 1.4 percent to $65.37, making the stock the Dow's top boost, followed by Exxon Mobil Corp , up 1.7 percent to $69.57. McDonald's gained nearly 2 percent to $56.68.

Shares of Sears Holdings Corp

With the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend approaching and little economic data due, light trading volumes subjected the stock market to some volatility.

(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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