NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
U.S. stocks closed little changed Friday and lower on the week. The session was a fitting end to a tumultuous February that saw the Dow industrials and S&P 500 post gains on the month, while the Nasdaq declined, marking its first down month since September.
The Dow Jones industrial average (up 3.78 to 10583.92, Charts) and the Standard & Poor's 500 (up 0.03 to 1144.94, Charts) index both closed just above breakeven, while the Nasdaq composite (down 2.75 to 2029.82, Charts) ended just below unchanged.
Stronger-than-forecast gross domestic product growth and less bullish news on consumer sentiment provided some comfort at the open, with investors focusing on the positive aspects of the reports and the durability of the economic recovery. But gains throughout the session continued to be limited, as they have been for most of the month of February, as investors wonder whether the rally is in need of a rest.
For the week, the Dow lost 0.3 percent, its second week of declines; the Nasdaq lost 0.4 percent, its sixth week of declines; and the S&P 500 closed less than one point higher, after having closed lower last week.
For the month of February, the S&P 500 gained 1.2 percent, closing higher, for the fifth time in a row. The Dow gained 0.9 percent, closing higher for the third month in a row. But the Nasdaq lost 1.75 percent in February, closing lower on the month, the first time it did so since September.
"Profit news continues to be good, and we are seeing some relief from the profit taking of the last few weeks," said Douglas Altabef, managing director at Matrix Asset Advisors. "But there is an ongoing tug-of-war between 'we've come too far too fast,' and 'the economic recovery is strong' and you're seeing that played out on a day-to-day basis."
Next week brings a number of earnings, but few are market-moving, with most of the influential companies having already reported results.
The week's biggest economic report is likely Friday's monthly payrolls and unemployment rate.
Ahead of that, on Monday, a report is due on personal income and spending for January. Economists surveyed by Reuters expect that income rose 0.5 percent after gaining 0.2 percent in the previous month. Spending is expected to have risen 0.4 percent, the same as it did the previous month.
Also due Monday, the Institute for Supply Management releases its manufacturing index for February, which is expected to fall to 62.0 from 63.6 in January.
Investors shrug off GDP growth
Gross domestic product growth was upwardly revised, showing that the economy expanded at a 4.1 percent annualized rate in the fourth-quarter, compared with an initial 4.0 percent reading. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting GDP to have slowed to a 3.8 percent annualized rate in the quarter. In the third quarter, GDP grew at an 8.2 percent pace.
In addition, the final reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for February was upwardly revised to 94.4 from an initial read of 93.1. Economists were expecting it to be revised up to 94.0.
While the upward revision was a positive, the index was still down sharply from a read of 103.8 in January, confirming that worries about the labor market and the sustainability of the economic recovery have started to impact how consumers feel.
The Chicago purchasing managers index, which looks at manufacturing in the Midwest, clocked in at 63.6 in February, down from 65.9 in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting a read of 63.5.
What moved
Among the stocks on the move, shares of Martha Stewart Living (MSO: up $1.43 to $14.53, Research, Estimates) rallied just under 11 percent on news that the judge in the criminal trial of the company's founder and namesake has dropped securities fraud charges against the domestic doyenne.
Sun Microsystems (SUNW: up $0.10 to $5.31, Research, Estimates) rose 1.9 percent after news that the company's server shipment orders rose 21.3 percent overall in the fourth quarter versus a year earlier, and rose 20.3 percent over the third-quarter, according to the quarterly server data released by market researcher International Data Corp.
Genentech (DNA: up $4.79 to $107.89, Research, Estimates) continued to gain, rising nearly 6 percent, after announcing just before the close of trade Thursday that it has received regulatory approval to market Avastin, a well-regarded drug used to treat colon cancer.
Autodesk (ADSK: up $2.79 to $28.76, Research, Estimates) advanced more than 10 percent after the software maker reported fourth-quarter earnings per share and revenue that grew from a year earlier and surpassed expectations, due in part to strong sales of its computer-supported design software.
The Dow's biggest gainers were in the aerospace and defense sector. Boeing (BA: up $0.93 to $43.37, Research, Estimates) and United Technologies (UTX: up $2.23 to $92.11, Research, Estimates) both bounced after declining for three straight sessions on news that the U.S. Army has cancelled its $39 billion Comanche helicopter program.
The biggest Dow decliners were Caterpillar (CAT: down $2.20 to $75.75, Research, Estimates), down 2.8 percent, and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: down $0.51 to $22.71, Research, Estimates), down 2.2 percent.
In addition, Oracle (ORCL: down $0.41 to $12.87, Research, Estimates) lost 3 percent one session after the Department of Justice said it would move to block the business software maker's attempted hostile takeover of rival PeopleSoft. On Friday, a number of analysts issued notes saying that Oracle should drop its bid.
Market breadth was positive. Advancers beat decliners by around two to one on the New York Stock Exchange, where 1.49 billion shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, gainers edged losers by eight to seven with volume at 1.82 billion shares.
Treasury bond prices rose, with the 10-year note adding 16/32 of a point, pushing its yield to 3.97 percent from 4.03 percent late Thursday. The dollar gained versus the euro and dipped versus the yen.
Among commodities markets, NYMEX light sweet crude oil futures rose 65 cents to settle at $36.16 a barrel. COMEX gold rose $1.30 to settle at $396.80 an ounce.
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