U.S. Stocks Close Mixed Session With Weekly Gains

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Friday closed mixed as quarterly results weighed on the technology sector and the Nasdaq Composite Index, and financials struggled as well after Citigroup Inc. reported smaller losses than expected but Merrill Lynch & Co. tamped spirits down.

Some of technology's largest players, including Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. , disappointed investors. .

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 49.91 points, or 0.4%, to end at 11,496.57, giving the blue-chip index a weekly gain of 3.6%.

Friday's close left 19 of the Dow's 30 components in positive turf, with the gains led by Citigroup . Its shares were up 7.7% after the banking giant reported a quarterly loss of 54 cents a share -- narrower than the consensus view of 62 cents.

Citi's results, which were not as bad as expected, helped fuel a modest rise in the dollar, with the dollar index , measuring the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, at 72.17 compared with 72.048 late Thursday.

"The prudent course of action at this point, and ahead of the weekend, is to take profits on stock gains and cover shorts in Treasurys. Though no one expects any weekend action from the Fed or Treasury, two weekend bailouts in the last four months has traders wary," said analysts at Action Economics.

Treasurys declined, pushing the 10-year notes toward a weekly loss. .

Blue-chip losses were led by Microsoft , down 6.6%, after its late Thursday report of double-digit second-quarter profit growth as well as a disappointing outlook for the current quarter.

The S&P 500 Index gained 0.36 points to 1,260.68, which translated into a 1.7% advance from last Friday's close.

Telecommunication services led sector gains among the index's 10 industry groups, up 1.3%, followed by energy, up 1.1%, and financials, up 0.9%.

Helping bolster the energy sector, Schlumberger Corp. shares were up 3.9%, after the Houston company reported second-quarter net income climbed 13%. .

Consumer staples fronted sector declines on the S&P, off 0.8%, followed by consumer discretionary, off 0.4%, and information technology, down 0.3%.

The Nasdaq dropped 29.52 points, or 1.3%, to close at 2,282.78, giving it a weekly gain of 2%.

Yahoo Inc. shares edged mildly up after one of the company's biggest shareholders endorsed the Web portal's incumbent board of directors. .

Trading volume topped 1.7 billion shares on New York Stock Exchange, with advancers shares edging past decliners 8 to 7. On the Nasdaq, more than 1 billion shares traded, and decliners topped advancers 5 to 4.

Crude futures fell, extending losses into a fourth straight session, with the benchmark contract down more than 11% for the week. Crude for August delivery declined 41 cents, or 0.3%, to end at $128.88 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Elsewhere on the Nymex, gold futures fell more than 1%, as gains in the dollar prompted traders to sell the precious metal, with gold for August delivery dropping $12.70 to end at $958 an ounce. .

Active issues

Honeywell International Inc. shares fell 0.4%after the aerospace manufacturer raised its full-year outlook on a nearly 20% climb in second-quarter profit, but its prediction of lower growth in global air traffic raised concerns. .

Shares of Freddie Mac gained 10.2% in the wake of a Wall Street Journal report that the mortgage buyer is considering raising capital by selling as much as $10 billion in new shares to investors.

Late Thursday, Merrill reported a larger than expected $4.65 billon second-quarter net loss after a further round of mortgage-related write-downs. Shares gained 0.6%.

Shares of Mattel Inc. rallied 13% after the toymaker said quarterly profit fell by half, but this still beat Wall Street targets on sales gains for its Hot Wheels, American Girl and Fisher-Price toys.

Overseas, Asian stocks traded mixed to close out the week, although the Nikkei 225 lost ground in Tokyo.

European shares gained with the U.K. FTSE 100 index brushing off early losses to rise 1.7% to end at 5,376.4. .

On Thursday, U.S. equities rallied for the second day, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 207.38 points, or 1.9%, to close at 11,446.66. It marked a gain of 484.12 points since Wednesday's opening bell, its biggest two-day point advance since last November.

By Kate Gibson