Stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance throughout the trading day on Friday after showing a strong upward move in the previous session. The choppy trading came as traders seemed reluctant to make any significant moves going into the long weekend.
The major averages eventually ended the session mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a modest loss. While the Nasdaq fell 8.07 points or 0.3 percent to 2,951.78, the Dow climbed 45.79 points or 0.4 percent to 12,989.87 and the S&P 500 edged up 3.19 points or 0.2 percent to 1,361.23.
Despite the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all moved higher for the week. The Dow rose by 1.2 percent to its best closing level in well over three years, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 advanced 1.6 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
The lack of direction on Wall Street came as traders took a breather following the rally that was seen in the previous session.
Nonetheless, optimism that European finance ministers will approve a new bailout package for Greece on Monday helped to keep traders from doing much profit taking.
The markets largely shrugged off the release of a report from the Labor Department showing a modest increase in consumer prices in the month of January.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in January after coming in unchanged in the previous month. Economists had expected the index to increase by 0.3 percent.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core consumer price index also rose by 0.2 percent in January after edging up by 0.1 percent in December. The increase by the core index came in line with economist estimates.
A separate report from the Conference Board showed that its index of leading economic indicators increased for the fourth consecutive month in January.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.4 percent in January following a revised 0.5 percent increase in December. Economists had been expecting the index to increase by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Ataman Ozyildirim, an economist at the Conference Board, said, "This fourth consecutive gain in the LEI reflected fairly widespread strength among its components, pointing to somewhat more positive economic conditions in early 2012."
Among individual stocks, food maker H.J. Heinz (HNZ) rose by 4.6 percent after reporting stronger than expected third quarter earnings and narrowing its full year earnings outlook.
Meanwhile, shares of Nordstrom (JWN) fell by 2 percent after the upscale department store operator reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings but forecast full year 2012 earnings below analyst estimates.
Sector News
Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, significant strength was visible among oil service stocks. Reflecting the strength in the oil service sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index advanced 1.3 percent to a six-month closing high.
The strength among oil service stocks came amid a notable increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for March delivery climbing $0.93 to a nine-month closing high of $103.24 a barrel.
Railroad stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, with Freightcar America (RAIL) leading the sector higher after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results. Natural gas, telecom, and banking stocks also posted notable gains.
On the other hand, biotechnology stocks came under substantial selling pressure, with Gilead Sciences (GILD) posting a steep loss after the company said a majority of patients using its hepatitis C treatment experienced a relapse within four weeks of completing the treatment.
Gold stocks also showed a notable downward move on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 1.2 percent. The losses by gold stocks came as gold for April delivery slipped $2.50 to $1,725.90 an ounce.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved higher on Friday, benefiting from the strength seen on Wall Street overnight. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 1 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index ended the day up by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both surged up by 1.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries saw modest weakness on the day but closed well off their worst levels of the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, closed up 1.7 basis points at 2.01 percent after reaching a high of 2.038 percent.
Looking Ahead
Following the slew of U.S. economic data that was released over the past week, the economic calendar for next week is relatively light. Nonetheless, traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on new and existing home sales and weekly jobless claims.
On the earnings front, Dell (DELL), Wal-Mart (WMT), Home Depot (HD), Kraft (KFT), Hewlett Packard (HPQ), and Target (TGT) are among the big-name companies scheduled to report their quarterly results next week.
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