By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock benchmarks Friday extended
gains to a third-straight week after a lackluster session
highlighted by upbeat reports from Oracle Corp. and Research in
Motion Ltd.
After brief forays into positive turf, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJI) closed off 7.34 points, or 0.1%, at 11,491.91, with
its 17 of its 30 components lower. Disappointment over the outcome
of a European Union summit, which bolstered the U.S. dollar,
weighed on the index.
The S&P 500 (SPX) ended up 1.04 points, or 0.1%, at
1,243.91, with materials the best performer and telecommunications
the weakest of its 10 industry groups. It was the benchmark's
highest close since September 2008.
"The market is saying, 'We're going to wrap it up for the year,'
and today we're meandering around zero," said John Canally, an
analyst at LPL Financial.
Friday's quarterly options and futures expiration had the
possibility of adding volatility to the market as traders closed
out positions, analysts said, although as the afternoon progressed,
that did not appear to be the case.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) climbed 5.66 points, or 0.2%, to
2,642.97.
For the week, the Dow gained 0.7%, the S&P 500 added 0.3%,
and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2%. It was the third-straight
week of gains for the Dow and the S&P 500 and the fourth for
the Nasdaq Composite.
For every seven stocks on the decline, eight were rising on the
New York Stock Exchange, where 2 billion shares traded hands.
Signaling the recovery should pick up steam early next year, the
Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators in November
made its biggest jump in eight months.
The index, which tracks data including orders for new goods,
climbed 1.1%, as economists surveyed by MarketWatch had
expected.
Concerns from overseas were again in play after Moody's
Investors Service downgraded Ireland's government-bond rating by
five notches and said the country had a weak economic outlook.
"Unfortunately we're still in an environment where European
sovereign debt is still an issue, and then the dollar goes up a
bit, commodities go up a bit and U.S. equities get hit a little
bit," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies &
Co.
Technology offered investors a bit of bullish momentum, with
quarterly results from software giant Oracle (ORCL) and Blackberry
maker Research In Motion (RIMM) topping Wall Street's expectations
late Thursday. Oracle shares ended up 3.9%, while Research in
Motion's U.S. shares gained 1.6%.
Ahead of Wall Street's open, the Bank of Montreal said it would
buy Wisconsin-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (MI@) for $4.1
billion in stock, triggering a rally in regional bank stocks.
On Friday, President Barack Obama signed a bipartisan tax
package, extending Bush-era tax cuts for virtually all American
workers for another two years. The U.S. House passed the
legislation Thursday night.