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U.S. stocks turned positive Friday after hopeful comments followed the opening round of negotiations at the White House on averting automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to begin Jan. 1. Obama administration is reportedly in discussions on a plan to replace sweeping spending cuts with a smaller package. Congressional leaders emerged from the meeting with President Barack Obama and labeled the discussions "constructive." House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sounded optimistic that they have a framework for a deal and they considered the meeting constructive. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said there should be a goal to avert the cliff by Christmas, while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Boehner both said Republicans were willing to put revenue on the table to reach a deal. States worry about 'fiscal cliff' State budget chiefs have begun setting aside money and looking for programs they can quickly scale back if leaders in Washington fail to reach a deal to avoid sending the economy over the so-called fiscal cliff. Photo: AP The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.42% climbed 37.10 points, or 0.3%, to 12,579.48. The S&P 500 Index SPX +0.55% rose 4.98 points, or 0.4%, to 1,358.31, with utilities leading gains that included all but the telecommunications sectors. The Nasdaq Composite COMP +0.63% advanced 7.43 points, or 0.3%, to 2,844.37. For every stock on the decline, nearly two rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where 445 million shares traded as of 12:15 p.m. Eastern. Composite volume neared 1.9 billion. Ahead of Friday's opening bell, stock-index futures had gained after The Wall Street Journal reported the White House is in discussions to replace spending reductions in the so-called fiscal cliff with a smaller package of cuts and tax hikes. See: White House reportedly in talks to replace cuts. Industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in October as superstorm Sandy took out power in the northeast, with output at factories, mines and utilities declining 0.4% last month