US markets rose on Friday driven by a takeover bid in the software sector, data showing strength in consumer spending and a brighter outlook from McDonald's Corp.

Investors welcomed some economic news. Retail sales saw a surprisingly better-than-expected bounce, helped by a surge in auto purchases in September. The Commerce Department says total sales rose 0.6 per cent last month after a gain of 0.3 percent in August. A strong 1.2 per cent jump in auto sales drove much of that increase.

The US department of Labor Producer Price Index, which is prices paid by businesses at the wholesale level, showed a 1.1 percent increase in the month, following a 1.4 percent drop in August prices.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell to 82 in early October from 83.4 at the end of September. Economists, on average, thought it would rise higher to 84.

Taking a look at the numbers, the Dow Jones Industrials is up 78 points to end at 14,093; the S&P500 added 7 points to 1,562, and the Nasdaq ended 33 points higher to 2,806.

In company news, shares in Oracle were down 0.09 per cent to around $22.44. The company says it made a $6.7 billion unsolicited offer to buy business software maker BEA Systems, which is under pressure from an activist shareholder to put itself up for sale. Shares in BEA systems also jumped on the news.

Shares in McDonalds' gained 1.37 per cent to $57.02 cents. The world's largest restaurant company has forecast third-quarter earnings above the average Wall Street estimate as September store sales rose 5.9 per cent on strength in Asia.

Shares in General Electric plunged 1.37 per cent to $41.30. GE posted quarterly earnings, that met expectations, driven by strong demand for heavy equipment and strength at its financial units. However its stock fell on concern about margins. The company says it expects its third-quarter and full-year earnings to be below Wall Street's average

Shares in Allegheny Technologies plunged 6.2 per cent to $100.04. The company expects its third-quarter to be below Wall Street's average, in anticipation of higher inventories at mills and depots and volatile raw material costs. It also expects the fourth quarter to be further affected by continuing low operating volumes.

And now to the best and worst performers in the Nasdaq Top 100. Helping prop-up the Nasdaq was BEA Systems, shares were up 38.18 per cent to $18.82 after it received an unsolicited offer from Oracle. Electronic Arts came next, and that was followed by Applied Materials.

Shares in Sepracor have tumbled 3.48 per cent to $26.05. Staples and Sandisk round out the list.