Wall Street opens higher ahead of Bernanke

NEW YORK -

Stocks opened higher on Friday as investors stepped back into equities ahead of a much-anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 72.31 points, or 0.56 percent, to 13,073.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 8.23 points, or 0.59 percent, to 1,407.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 24.06 points, or 0.79 percent, to 3,072.77.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, editing by Dave Zimmerman)