Wall Street rises on overseas optimism; S&P touches record

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced modestly on Friday, as the S&P 500 scaled a new intraday record, helped by investor optimism regarding Greece and Ukraine and upbeat German growth data.

Germany grew 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter, more than double the expected 0.3 percent, pointing to a stronger 2015 for Europe's biggest economy.

Equities have rallied this week after a ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia, and apparent progress on a deal on Greek debt in the euro zone. For the week, the Dow .DJI is up 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 .SPX is up 1.8 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC is up 2.5 percent.

"Investors have been very cautious, overly so in equities, over the past month or so. That seems to be mostly attributable to overseas risks. Those risks are coming off the table this week," said Scott Colyer, chief executive officer of Advisors Asset Management, an investment advisory firm in Monument, Colorado.

He also cited overall strength in U.S. earnings growth despite the impact of the strong dollar on some firms with overseas sales exposure.