U.S. stocks rose on Friday, setting up a second straight week of gains, as upbeat retail news reinforced hopes for strong sales in the key holiday season.

Walt Disney Co shares supported the Dow industrials after the media giant posted late on Thursday profit and revenue that beat analysts' expectations.

Retailer shares rose as department store operator JC Penney Co Inc said earnings for the holiday quarter could beat estimates, while clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co posted better-than-expected results.

Consumer discretionary shares led the way even as the Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary November Surveys of Consumers showed U.S. consumer confidence fell to its weakest level in three months amid grim expectations for job and income prospects.

I think people were paying more attention to JC Penney and Abercrombie & Fitch as indicative examples of people's sentiment toward retail, said Michael James, senior trader at Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.

JC Penney rose 7.2 percent to $31.50 and Abercrombie & Fitch climbed 9.4 percent to $40.21.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 84.49 points, or 0.83 percent, to 10,281.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 7.35 points, or 0.68 percent, to 1,094.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 18.68 points, or 0.87 percent, to 2,167.70.

Wedbush Morgan's James also pointed to a slide in the U.S. dollar as supporting a rise in stocks, as investors take advantage of the greenback's weakness to invest in commodities and equities. The energy <.GSPE> and materials <.GSPM> sectors of the S&P 500 outperformed the benchmark index.

The dollar weakened as the U.S. trade deficit widened in September by an unexpectedly large 18.2 percent, the most in more than 10 years. For a story on the U.S. economy, see

Disney shares rose 4.3 percent to $30.29 after it posted a larger-than-expected rise in both quarterly profit and revenue, as strong results from its cable business helped it overcome a disappointing stretch for its film studio.

(Disney) is a big name that is very easy for large portfolio managers to continue to buy on good results, and I think you're seeing the fruits of that today, James said.

Brokerage upgrades lifted shares of Qualcomm Inc and Juniper Networks Inc . Juniper shot up 6 percent to $26.18 and chipmaker Qualcomm rose 2.3 percent to $45.89 and helped lift the PHLX semiconductor index <.SOXX>.

(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

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