Stocks Finish June in Fine Fashion

Separately, the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said that its business barometer increased to 52.9 in June from 52.7 in May, above the read of 52.5 economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the regional economy.

A Goldman Sachs report said qualitative comments show that, compared to last month, more industries are reporting a slowdown in activity and or a cautious outlook; on the other hand, comments generally indicate a gradual slowdown as opposed to outright contraction.

"Unsurprisingly, the European crisis and the upcoming U.S. 'fiscal cliff' remain the key risks across sectors, weighing on business outlook and sentiment," the report said. "The housing market remains the one bright spot in the economy, as our homebuilders team continues to report positive trends, consistent with broad increases in recent home sales and house price reports."

August crude oil futures surged $7.27 to settle at $84.96 a barrel, while August gold futures soared $53.80 to settle at $1604.20 an ounce.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury shed 20/32, raising the yield to 1.654%, while the greenback made a major move, sliding back 1.33%, according to the dollar index.

In corporate news, Research In Motion(RIMM) was a big mover to the downside after disappointing Wall Street Thursday with its fiscal first-quarter results.

The BlackBerry maker reported a much wider-than-anticipated loss , pushed back the launch of the BlackBerry 10 until the first calendar quarter of 2013 and announced plans to lay off 5,000 employees, roughly 30% of its work force. The stock finished down 19%.

Nike(NKE) posted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday that missed analysts' expectations. The sneaker maker reported a profit of $549 million, or $1.17 a share, on revenue of $6.47 billion for the three months ended in May; analysts were expecting earnings of $1.37 a share on revenue of $6.51 billion.

The company attributed the year-over-year decline in earnings to lower gross margin, higher SG&A spending, a higher effective tax rate and costs related to restructuring operations in western Europe. Shares lost more than 9% on the day.