NEW YORK, New York - Wall Street jumped on Friday, although gains were modest after bank shares in Europe came under scrutiny.

Driving prices Friday was a sell-off in the giant German bank, Deutsche Bank.

"It could be crippled if there's a big loss of confidence and there's a run on the bank. There is, however, no fundamental reason why that should occur, other than nervousness," George Ball, president at Sanders Morris Harris, told CNBC Friday.

Shares on European markets and elsewhere in the world were pounded, however U.S. markets held up, but not before seeing considerable volatility.

"I think that the market overall is neither frightened nor optimistic; it's simply confused," Ball said. "The price action for the last month-and-a-half, including today, is a jumble without any direction or conviction."

The Standard and Poor's 500 advanced 22.27 points or 0.56 percent to 3,970.99.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 132.28 points or 0.41 percent to 32,237.54.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 36.56 points or 0.31 percent to 11,823.96.

The global foreign exchange markets approached the close on Friday with mixed results, as major currency pairs saw fluctuations throughout the day.

The Euro/US dollar pair closed at 1.0759, down 0.64 percent from the previous day's close.

The Japanese yen inched down 0.02 percent to 130.75.

The Canadian dollar edged down 0.14 percent to 1.3734 due to lower oil prices.

The British pound fell moderately to 1.2232, a loss of 0.48 percent.

The Swiss franc surprisingly advanced, reaching 0.9195, a gain of 0.36 percent approaching the U.S. close Friday, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid the uncertainty in the markets.

The Australian dollar dropped 0.50 percent to 0.6648, while the New Zealand dollar lost a hefty 0.79 percent to 0.6199.

World stock markets in Europe and Asia experienced a widespread decline on Friday, with most major indices closing in the red. The FTSE 100 in London closed at 7,405.45, down 94.15 points or 1.26 percent. Meanwhile, in Frankfurt, the DAX Performance Index fell 253.16 points or 1.66 percent to close Friday at 14,957.23.

The CAC 40 in Paris also suffered losses, with a decline of 124.15 points or 1.74 percent to finish at 7,015.10. Other major indices were also affected, including the ESTX 50 PR.EUR which fell by 76.52 points or 1.82 percent to close at 4,130.62, and the Euronext 100 Index which decreased by 21.83 points or 1.64 percent to finish at 1,307.70.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Japan was down 34.36 points or 0.13 percent to close at 27,385.25. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong also experienced a decline of 133.96 points or 0.67 percent to close at 19,915.68. The SSE Composite Index in Shanghai fell by 21.00 points or 0.64 percent to close at 3,265.65. The Shenzhen Index, on the other hand, gained 28.93 points or 0.25 percent to close at 11,634.22.

In Taiwan, the TSEC weighted index increased by 50.75 points or 0.32 percent, closing at 15,914.70.

Other indices that closed in the red include the BEL 20 in Brussels, which fell by 31.28 points or 0.86 percent to close at 3,626.44, and the S&P BSE Sensex in Mumbai, which declined by 398.18 points or 0.69 percent to close at 57,527.10. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI in Kuala Lumpur also experienced a decline of 11.28 points or 0.80 percent to close Friday at 1,399.70.

Finally, the NIFTY 50 in India closed at 16,945.05, down by 131.85 points or a decrease of 0.77 percent.

However, there were indices in Asia that closed in the green, including the IDX Composite in Jakarta, which gained 70.64 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 6,762.25, and the KOSPI Composite Index in Seoul, which increased by 9.52 points or 0.39 percent to close at 2,414.96.

Overall, it was a rough day for European and Asian stock markets on Friday, with many indices seeing significant declines. Investors will be watching closely to see how the banking sector crisis in Europe unfolds next week.

Meanwhile, in Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite index closed at 19,501.49, up by 41.57 points or an increase of 0.21 percent. This indicates a slightly positive trading session with a total volume of 235.917 million shares traded.

On the other hand, the Top 40 USD Net TRI Index in South Africa saw a decline of 79.55 points or a decrease of 1.91 percent on Friday, closing at 4,094.56. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Russell 2000 closed at 1,731.17, up by 10.88 points or a gain of 0.63 percent.

In Brazil, the IBOVESPA closed at 98,784.48, up by 858.13 points or an increase of 0.88 percent. In Mexico, the IPC MEXICO saw a slight decrease of 22.13 points or a loss of 0.04 percent, closing at 52,805.80.

In Chile, the S&P/CLX IPSA remained unchanged at 5,058.88. Meanwhile, in Argentina, the MERVAL increased by 233.89 points or 0.61 percent, closing at 38,390.84.

In Israel, the TA-125 increased by 35.88 points or 2.06 percent, closing at 1,776.73. In Egypt, the EGX 30 Price Return Index increased by 371.90 points or 2.44 percent, closing at 15,625.10 with a trading volume of 81.929 million shares.

Investors in the CBOE Volatility Index saw a decrease of 0.53 points or a decline of 2.34 percent, with the index closing at 22.08.