NEW YORK —
Stocks eked out a small gain at the end of a rough week in which the market was weighed down by prospects of a global economic slowdown.
The Dow on Friday closed up 34.59 points, or 0.3 percent, at 13,080.73. Financial stocks performed well, led by a 2.6 percent gain for Bank of America.
For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 152 points, the worst in a month despite reports of strengthening in the U.S. jobs market and better corporate profits. Investors were worried about a slowdown in Asia and Europe and the impact of higher oil prices on consumer spending.
Homebuilders and home-improvement stocks fell Friday after the Commerce Department said sales of new homes fell 1.6 percent last month. PulteGroup fell 2.6 percent and Lennar declined 1 percent, while Lowe’s and Home Depot fell a little less than 1 percent.
In other trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index inched up 4.33 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,397.11 and the Nasdaq composite rose 4.6 points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,067.92.
A wide range of companies, including Nike, Oracle, FedEx and Tiffany, have reported stellar earnings this week. However, those accomplishments were marred by worries of the effect of a slowdown in Asia and Europe on the companies that rely on global sales. Reports in China and Europe earlier in the week pointed to a likely slowdown in those economies.
