Stocks advanced for a fifth straight session on Friday and were poised to record their best week in nearly a year after data showed the U.S. manufacturing sector grew faster than expected in June, helping to dispel some recent gloom about the economy.

The pace of growth in manufacturing picked up for the first time in four months, with an index of national factory activity rising to 55.3 from 53.5 the month before, Institute for Supply Management (ISM) data showed.

The ISM survey built on surprisingly strong regional business data on Thursday. Friday marks the fifth day of an equities rally as stocks rebounded from a spate of weakness over the last two months.

It does appear there is some acceleration here in the manufacturing side, and that's good news, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills, New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 119.58 points, or 0.96 percent, to 12,533.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 10.51 points, or 0.80 percent, to 1,331.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 22.20 points, or 0.80 percent, to 2,795.72.

Investors focused on the U.S. data, even as the latest overseas data was sobering. Outside the United States, the global manufacturing sector lost steam for a second month running, surveys showed.

The S&P 500 <.SPX> climbed further above resistance at its 50-day moving average at 1,317, establishing another floor in the market after the index moved above a number of technical resistance levels.

In company news, Oshkosh Corp rose 11.3 percent to $32.20 after Carl Icahn said he wanted to meet with the management at the specialty truck maker to discuss enhancing shareholder value. The billionaire investor owned about 9.5 percent of Oshkosh shares as of June 20.

Eastman Kodak Co dropped 13 percent to $3.11 after a U.S. trade panel upheld portions of a ruling unfavorable to the company in a patent fight over digital camera technology in cell phones.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Carl icahn