U.S.-listed Chinese firms trade higher

NEW YORK, March 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher on Friday with all of the top 10 stocks by weight in the SP U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

Shares of Yum China and TAL Education gained 3.79 percent and 3.15 percent respectively, leading the advancers in the top 10 stocks of the index.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday as investors digested the country's key economic data as well as the latest corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 138.93 points, or 0.54 percent, to 25,848.87. The SP 500 rose 14.00 points, or 0.50 percent, to 2,822.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 57.62 points, or 0.76 percent, to 7,688.53.

As of Thursday, the SP U.S. Listed China 50 index stood at 2,745.80, marking a 0.41-percent increase for the month-to-date returns and a 19.84-percent gain for the year-to-date returns.