U.S. stocks were mostly rising midday Friday, with all three major benchmarks on track for weekly gains. The S&P 500 was up 17 points, or 0.3%, at almost 5,859. The Nasdaq Composite was advancing nearly 102 points, or 0.6%, to 18,475.

Asian shares are higher after China's central bank released plans for supporting stock markets through share repurchases

Shares mostly advanced in Asia on Thursday after U.S. stocks rose following better-than-expected profit reports from Morgan Stanley, United Airlines and other big companies. Chinese markets fell back after officials in Beijing announced the government was expanding financing for housing projects to try to turn around a slump in the property market triggered by a crackdown on excessive borrowing by developers.