NEW YORK, March 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday as investors meditated on a batch of generally positive economic reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 72.85 points, or 0.29 percent, to 24,946.51. The S&P 500 increased 4.68 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,752.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.25 point, or less than 0.01 percent, to 7,481.99.

Following a decline of 0.3 percent in January, U.S. industrial production rose 1.1 percent in February, well above market estimates of a 0.4-percent gain, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

The number of job openings increased to 6.3 million on the last business day of January, beating market expectations of 5.8 million, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.

The preliminary reading of U.S. consumer sentiment in March rose to 102, higher than economists' estimates of 98.8, according to a survey released by the University of Michigan on Friday.

Meanwhile, U.S. privately-owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,236,000, missing market consensus, the Commerce Department announced Friday.

Investors also kept a close eye on the country's political developments, in the wake of major personnel changes in the White House, including the departure of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, and the naming of Lawrence Kudlow as the director of the National Economic Council. Enditem