Soaring demand for commodities and energy lifted two of three US stock indices Friday for the fourth day of five, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index had its largest weekly gain in more than two months. ( dpa )
While the Dow Jones declined, the S& P and Nasdaq continued their rally despite bad news on the labour front and the darkening outlook for bank profits. The government said unemployment rose to 5.1 per cent in March from 4.8 per cent in February.
Exxon Mobil Corp shares reached a five-week high after oil climbed above 106 dollars a barrel. The dollar fell against the euro, and expectations were growing that the Federal Reserve will again cut interest rates by half a percentage point later this month.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 16.61 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 12,609.42. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 1.09 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 1,370.40. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 7.68 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 2,370.40.
The US currency retreated against the euro to 63.54 euro cents from 63.76 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar also lost against the Japanese currency to 101.48 yen from 102.26 yen on Thursday.
Gold rallied 3.6 dollars to 913.2 dollars per fine ounce.