NEW YORK — U.S. stocks Friday pulled mostly higher for another week, as investors drew a sigh of relief after the White House stepped in to rescue automakers, offsetting worries that an industry breakdown would deepen the recession.
The potential demise of the auto industry was “the largest element of uncertainty hanging over the market. As long as unemployment doesn’t creep up drastically, as long as it stays below 7 percent, we can recover from there,” said Tim Speiss, head of wealth management division at Eisner LLP.
“If you’re a homeowner, it now costs less to heat your home during the winter and you have an opportunity to refinance, two very good things,” said Speiss, adding that people are overly “focused on what they lost in their 401(k) plans that they’re not going to need for another 15 years instead of thinking about how they can refinance their home and save on heating bills.”
After climbing about 200 points, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 8,579.11, off 25.88 points, or 0.3 percent, to finish the week down 0.6 percent.
Seventeen of the Dow’s 30 components finished in the red, with Citigroup Inc. proving the Dow’s biggest laggard, its shares off more than 5.5 percent.
General Motors Corp. led blue-chip gains, up 22.7 percent on news of the rescue package.
Off the Dow, shares of Ford Motor Co. gained 3.9 percent, although it won’t participate in the package at this time.
The S&P 500 advanced 2.32 points, or 0.3 percent, to end at 887.88, up 0.9 percent from a week ago.
Energy, information technology and financials paced the gains that stretched to include all but two of the index’s 10 industry groups.
Standouts included Southwestern Energy Co., up 11.1 percent.
The technology-laden Nasdaq composite rose 11.95 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,564.32, giving it a 1.5 percent weekly gain.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 2.4 billion, with advancing issues running ahead of those declining by a 5-3 ratio. On the Nasdaq, 1.3 billion shares traded hands, and advancers and decliners ran almost even.
Crude-oil investors dumped the expiring January contract, sending prices to just under $34 a barrel.
“One of the reasons why oil has been pressured over the past couple of days is the fact you have their options expiring as well. Hedge funds don’t want to carry on books next year,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners.
“The market’s up on the rescue plan for the auto industry, and I think this certainly is positive in terms of psychology. Of course, there is still a lot of work that has to be done, but it is a relief,” he added.
But Friday’s expirations of options were probably curbing any sharp moves higher, Cardillo said.
