Stocks held gains on Friday after a much anticipated concept paper on the government stress tests for the 19 biggest U.S. financial institutions was released.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 120.98 points, or 1.52 percent, to 8,078.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 12.56 points, or 1.47 percent, to 864.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 34.42 points, or 2.08 percent, to 1,686.63.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)