Stocks End Mixed as Traders Sit on Profits

Updated from 4:14 p.m. EDT

Stocks ended a volatile week narrowly mixed Friday as traders locked in profits and turned defensive ahead of the presidential election.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23 points, or 0.23%, to 10,027.50; the S&P 500 added 2.76 points, 0.24%, to 1130.20; and the Nasdaq, which hit a four-month high Thursday, fell 0.75 points, or 0.04%, to 1974.99.

Volume was relatively light on the New York Stock Exchange, where 1.4 billion shares changed hands and advancers beat decliners 3 to 2. At the Nasdaq, 1.6 billion shares traded and advancers were even with decliners.

The Dow ended the week up 2.8% while the S&P 500 rose 3.1%, both thanks to big rallies on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Nasdaq added 60 points, or 3.1%.

In other markets, the 10-year Treasury note rose 6/32 in price to yield 4.03%, while the dollar continued to slide against the yen and euro.

"You'd be very hard-pressed to find anybody make a big bet on the Friday before the presidential election," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies.

Looking ahead, Frank Husic, chief investment officer at Husic Capital Management, believes "we've begun the next leg of a bull market," with "a lot of technology leadership."

Tech is "like a glacier. It's moving at an imperceptible pace and yet it's altering the terrain in front of it in ways nobody could have predicted." Unlike in the 1990s, Husic added, "these companies are liquid, carrying very little debt and sitting on cash."

Before the bell Friday, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product expanded at a rate of 3.7% in the third quarter, missing estimates of 4.3% after a 3.3% rise in the second quarter. The advance reading, which is the last major economic report before Election Day, showed inflation continues to be under control while consumer spending is brisk.