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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Stocks eked out an advance Friday ahead of a long holiday weekend, extending a week of gains as investors looked ahead to next week's round of economic reports.
The Dow Jones industrial average (up 4.95 to 10,542.55, Charts) and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (up 1.16 to 1,198.78, Charts) index both gained 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq composite (up 4.49 to 2,075.73, Charts) index added 0.2 percent.
Stocks have enjoyed a strong week, with the Dow adding 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 rising 0.8 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.4 percent for the week.
The major indexes started the session up about 1 percent so far this week after last week's big rally, although bonds and some commodity prices have posted bigger gains in the first four days of trading. The Nasdaq has gained eight out of the last nine sessions.
"We've had a nice run off of late-April's lows and the market is digesting these gains," said Katie Townshend, chief market technician at brokerage MKM Partners. "We'll probably start moving to the downside next week."
Early next week, investors will look to readings on consumer confidence and auto sales for clues as to the strength of the economy, as well as the ISM Index.
Stocks were rangebound for most of the session, hovering just below breakeven on mixed consumer spending and sentiment data, along with some profit taking following a week of gains. On the Dow, Pfizer weighed while American International Group was the biggest percentage gainer.
"It has been quiet in general," said David Briggs, head of equity trading at Federated Investors. "We say some money go into mutual funds this week, so there was some buying this afternoon on the morning dip."
Market breadth was positive. Advancers beat decliners two to one on volume of 1 billion on the Dow, while advancers edged out decliners four to three on the Nasdaq as 1.3 billion shares changed hands.
Mixed consumer data
In economic news, consumer spending rose a bit less than expected in April while income gains were in line with Wall Street forecasts, according to a Commerce Department report released before the bell.
The report's inflation reading showed prices paid by consumers slightly higher in April than in March, but the price increase slowed excluding often volatile food and energy prices.
Meanwhile, a mixed reading on consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan gave the market little direction. The index fell to 86.9 in May from 87.7 in April, its fifth consecutive decline to its lowest level since March 2003, but the final number was more upbeat than the preliminary reading of 85.3 reported two weeks ago.
Some analysts attributed the uptick to easing gasoline prices and a seemingly stronger job market.
What moved?
American International Group (up $0.69 to $56.40, Research) ended the session up 1.2 percent, extending a 3 percent gain posted the previous session. Investors were hopeful that former chief executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, not the embattled insurer, is the main target of a civil lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
Tivo (down $0.21 to $6.73, Research) shares ended the day down 3 percent after surging in morning trading. The maker of digital video recorders said its first-quarter loss narrowed and that it expects to be profitable by the fourth-quarter ending in January 2006.
Shares in Chico's FAS (up $2.63 to $33.85, Research) soared 8.4 percent after the women's clothing retailer said its quarterly earnings rose 32 percent on solid sales, and forecast strong May same-store sales.
On the other side of the ledger, Pfizer (down $0.55 to $28.35, Research) fell 1.9 percent, after CBS reported that the Food & Drug Administration is investigating whether the drug can be linked to blindness in older users. The pharmaceutical giant is reportedly mulling a label change.
Software maker Computer Associates (down $1.36 to $27.30, Research) said it would restate another five years of results after finding 10 improper contracts in past periods following a $2.2 billion restatement last year. Shares posted a 4.9 percent drop on the news.
And Ditech (down $4.80 to $7.79, Research) tumbled 38.1 percent after the telecommunications equipment maker posted a lower quarterly profit and forecast a decline in orders from its second-largest customer, Nextel (up $0.08 to $29.77, Research).
U.S. light crude for July delivery continued its upward trend, gaining 84 cents to close at $51.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Treasury prices ended the session slightly higher, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note at 4.07 percent, down from 4.08 late Thursday. The bond market closed early Friday in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.
In currency trading, the dollar lost ground versus the euro and gained on the Japanese yen.
COMEX gold gained $1.80 to settle at $422.40 an ounce.
In global trade, Asian-Pacific markets ended higher Friday, with Tokyo ending at a six-week high, while European shares closed flat.
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