The Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF was rising 0.6% on Friday morning at $266.77, putting the fund on pace to potentially book its first record close since November 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC) advanced 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI) gained 300 points or 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC) flipped between positive an negative territory, after the major gauges closed Thursday in the green.

In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 pared gains following the PMI data and was last marked 0.3% higher in midday Frankfurt trading. Britain's FTSE 100, meanwhile, rose 0.74% as the pound fell to a six-month low of 1.2521 against the surging U.S. dollar.

"There were some warning signs from Target, but if you look at personal income and retail sales, they have been strong all year," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, in an interview. "That suggests the consumer has buying power."

At the other end of the Dow was Nvidia , which fell 3.2%, shedding $116 billion in market value along the way. The artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker reported solid earnings e