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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Falling oil prices and rising blue chips lifted stocks Friday, in a lightly-traded session at the end of another up week for the market.
The Dow Jones industrial average (up 45.94 to 10,686.04, Charts) gained 0.4 percent. The broader S&P 500 (up 3.76 to 1,234.72, Charts) index and the Nasdaq composite (up 5.79 to 2,202.47, Charts) both gained around 0.3 percent.
Treasury markets were closed in observance of Veterans Day, while oil prices continued the recent slide.
All three major gauges also closed higher for the week. For the Dow 30 and S&P 500, it was the third up week in a row. For the Nasdaq, it was the fourth in a row.
Although cautious, a number of analysts seem to think that the advance could continue over the next few weeks.
"The uptrend we've seen has been propelled by fundamentals, in particular by stronger third quarter earnings," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Trust.
"Given the strength of the earnings and the drop in oil prices lately, I think there's the potential for a modest run up through the end of the year," he added.
Friday's stock movers
The advance covered a variety of sectors, with 23 out of 30 Dow components closing higher.
Component General Motors (up $0.97 to $24.48, Research) added more than 4 percent, bouncing back after falling to a 23-year low Thursday on worries about a potential bankruptcy amid a newly discovered accounting error.
Kohl's (up $1.56 to $50.68, Research) jumped after reporting higher third quarter earnings that edged estimates. The department store also reiterated its fourth-quarter outlook, a move seen as particularly positive considering pessimism about the Christmas holiday season.
Dell (up $0.19 to $29.40, Research) reported third-quarter earnings late Thursday that were in line with recently lowered estimates. The personal computer maker also issued a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue forecast that sets the midpoint below analysts' current estimates.
However, investors managed to set aside any disappointment about Dell's outlook and the stock closed modestly higher Friday.
eBay (up $0.58 to $43.89, Research) and Monster.com (up $1.85 to $37.32, Research) were among the Web stocks boosting the Goldman Sachs Internet (Charts) index by 1.2 percent.
PortalPlayer (up $2.93 to $24.17, Research) gained nearly 14 percent in unusually active Nasdaq trade. The maker of memory used in iPods, digital cameras and other devices withdrew its plans to offer 4.5 million common shares late Thursday, saying its stock price wasn't high enough, and boosted its fourth-quarter earnings forecast.
Limiting the Nasdaq was weakness in the influential chip sector. The Philadelphia Semiconductor (down 3.38 to 461.15, Charts) index, or the SOX, lost 0.7 percent.
Market breadth was positive and volume was moderate. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers beat decliners by nine to seven on volume of 1.29 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, winners edged losers eight to seven on volume of 1.46 billion shares.
U.S. light crude oil for December fell 27 cents to settle at $57.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar edged lower versus the euro and was little changed against the yen, after recently having hit two-year highs against the other currencies.
COMEX gold gained $1.70 to settle at $469.40 an ounce.
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