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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
A modest gain Friday at the end of a mixed session enabled the S&P 500 to carve out a fresh four-year high and the Nasdaq composite to muster a new high for 2005.
The Dow Jones industrial average (up 11.94 to 10,640.83, Charts) added a few points, closing at a fresh four-month high. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 (up 1.42 to 1,227.92, Charts) index also added a few points, and closed at a new four year high.
The Nasdaq composite (up 3.96 to 2,156.78, Charts) added 0.2 percent, again closing at its highest point since the last trading day of 2004, just as it did Thursday.
On Thursday, a broad rally pushed the Dow and Nasdaq to their highest closes in months, and the S&P 500 to a four-year high.
After that advance, investors may have felt a bit hesitant for much of Friday, particularly in anticipation of next week's onslaught of earnings.
But some gains in biotech, housing and select techs in the late afternoon helped the major gauges build on the previous session's run.
Regardless of the mildness of the session, the tone of the market and the fundamentals remain positive, said Robert Philips, chief investment officer at money manager Walnut Asset Management.
"From a technical standpoint the market is in a pretty good place," Philips added. "But I think it's a classic summer Friday, and people don't want to commit too much after the week we've seen and ahead of all the news next week."
Around 137 S&P 500 companies report results next week, including Dow heavyweights such as IBM, Intel, General Motors and Microsoft.
Bets that the second-quarter earnings period will ultimately shape up a little better than forecast have helped support stocks in the last few weeks, even as oil prices have hovered near record highs.
Investors will be looking next week to see that the earnings deliver on those expectations.
Also in focus next week: Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's semi-annual testimony before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday.
Market breadth was narrowly positive Friday and trading volume was moderate. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by a narrow margin on volume of 1.32 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers also narrowly edged decliners as 1.54 billion shares changed hands.
For the week, the Dow gained 1.8 percent, the S&P 500 gained 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq gained 2.1 percent.
Inflation remains tame
Producer prices were unchanged in June, even amid rising oil prices, according to a government report released Friday morning. The producer price index (PPI) was expected to have risen 0.4 percent in the month, according to forecasts, after falling 0.6 percent in May.
The so-called core PPI, which strips out often volatile food and energy, fell 0.1 percent versus expectations for a rise of 0.2 percent.
The report was positive for investor sentiment and seemed to reinforce Thursday's read on consumer prices -- which also showed that higher oil prices have not increased overall inflation substantially.
In a busy day for economic reports, a May read on business inventories showed a smaller-than-expected gain, while the July NY Empire State Index clocked in above forecasts, a positive development for the regional read on manufacturing.
The first read on July consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan showed a slight rise from June that edged past estimates.
Dow stock McDonald's (up $1.39 to $30.99, Research) jumped 4.7 percent after the fast-food chain said second-quarter earnings would rise more than expected.
Fellow Dow stock General Electric (down $0.10 to $35.53, Research) reported second-quarter earnings of 44 cents per share, up from 36 cents a year ago and in line with analysts surveyed by Thomson/First Call.
But investors showed some disappointment with GE's third-quarter earnings forecast, which was short of estimates, and shares ended little changed.
Symbol Technology (down $1.35 to $11.11, Research), a bar code scanner and handheld computer maker, warned late Thursday that second-quarter revenue will miss forecasts. The company also said its chief financial officer was stepping down.
Shares fell nearly 11 percent in unusually active New York Stock Exchange trade.
In other news, Citigroup (down $0.08 to $46.42, Research) said late Thursday that its president is resigning to run another public financial services company.
Homebuilders rallied again, as they have been on and off over the last few weeks. The Dow Jones Home Construction (up $23.43 to $1,083.26, Research) index jumped 2.2 percent.
U.S. light crude oil for August delivery added 29 cents to settle at $58.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rebounding after losing more than $2 Thursday.
Treasury prices were little changed with the yield on the 10-year note at 4.17 percent.
In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and slipped versus the yen.
COMEX gold rose $1.10 to settle at $421.30 an ounce.
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