Stocks advanced on Friday, with the Dow up 2 percent by midday trade, as investors looked forward to a weekend European Union debt-crisis summit that could potentially remove a major headwind for markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 215.06 points, or 1.86 percent, at 11,756.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 19.94 points, or 1.64 percent, at 1,235.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 36.41 points, or 1.40 percent, at 2,635.03.

(Reporting by Angela Moon, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)