(Reuters) - Stocks advanced on Friday after the leaders of France and Germany said they were united behind a new aid package for debt-burdened Greece, while U.S. economic data gave support to the gains.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said "there was no time to lose" on agreeing on a program for Greece, suggesting a deal needed to be reached in July at the latest.

"We want to go as quickly as possible without fixing a date," Sarkozy said after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, adding that the pair had the same position on Greece.

A deal tied to new aid for Greece would ask that banks holding Greek debt voluntarily shoulder some of the burden. Greece's prime minister appointed a new finance minister in a crisis reshuffle to try to push through harsh economic reforms.

"What could be described as 'encouraging news' out of Europe regarding a possible rescue of Greece is the primary driver of the rally this morning," said Clark Yingst, chief market analyst at Joseph Gunnar & Co in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI added 72.13 points, or 0.60 percent, to 12,033.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 7.10 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,274.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 8.20 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,631.90.

If the S&P 500 and Dow hold on to gains, the indexes would record their first positive week in seven. The S&P 500 is almost 7 percent below a three-year high hit early last month.

A key measure of future U.S. economic activity rose more than expected in May to a record high, while U.S. consumer sentiment worsened more than forecast in June on continued pessimism about the economy, while worries about inflation eased modestly.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica and European bureaus; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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