Stocks in the U.S ended higher for the fourth-straight session Friday, logging sharp gains for the second week, as Wall Street cheered the Federal Reserve's decision to embark on another round of monetary stimulus.

Stocks briefly cut their gains after ratings agency firm Egan-Jones lowered the sovereign debt rating of the United States to AA-minus from AA, but soon bounced back.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher for a fourth-straight session, finishing the week at 13593.37, up 53.51 or 0.40 percent whilst the S&P500 and the Nasdaq also ended in positive territory.

Stocks rallied to multi-year highs in the previous session after the Fed launched another aggressive stimulus program, saying it will buy $40 billion of mortgage debt each month and continue to purchase assets to improve the jobs market.

AvaTrade have just launched a new competition to build on the excitement of footy finals season.

Open an AvaTrade trading account by Friday 21st September and you can win up to $3,000 bonus*, simply by picking the NRL and AFL 2012 Grand Final winners!

Opening your account is fast & easy, and should take no more than 10 minutes. Trade 24 hours a day, 5 days a week in over 60 currency pairs, all major commodities, stock indices, metals, bonds and individual stocks

Click here to get started today.

*conditions apply