Stocks Climb for Fifth Straight Day

Elsewhere, the Commerce Department reported that the current-account deficit for the first quarter ballooned to $195.1 billion. Economists had expected a widening to $190.0 billion from about $188 billion in the fourth quarter.

Stronger sectors Friday included energy, homebuilding, materials and health care. Airlines and software were among the weaker areas.

In earnings news, Circuit City(CC Quote) posted a wider-than-expected loss Friday, blaming higher expenses. The electronics retailer reported a first-quarter loss of $13.1 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a loss of $5.2 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 6.4% in the latest three months to $2.23 billion. Analysts expected Circuit City to post a loss of 2 cents a share on sales of $2.2 billion, according to Thomson First Call. The stock fell 72 cents, or 4.1%, to $16.93.

In corporate news, a New York state jury convicted former Tyco(TYC Quote) chief Dennis Kozlowski and former finance chief Mark Swartz of looting the conglomerate of hundreds of millions of dollars. Both were convicted on multiple counts, including grand larceny, which carries a sentence of up to 25 years in jail. The guilty verdict came in the former executives' second trial, after last year's mistrial. Tyco finished the session up 9 cents, or 0.3%, to $31.

Morgan Stanley(MWD Quote) is reviewing its plan to spin off the company's Discover card business, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. In April, the company said it would spin off the credit card unit. The stock was off 52 cents, or 1%, to close at $51.38.

Guidant(GDT Quote) said two reported deaths have been linked to the company's heart defibrillators, and 45 other cases in which a device malfunctioned. Guidant's shares fell $1.20, or 1.6%, to $72.46.

After the bell Thursday, Adobe Systems(ADBE Quote) reported a second-quarter profit of $149.8 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with $109.4 million, or 22 cents a share, a year ago. Quarterly revenue increased 21% to $496 million. Excluding items, the software company earned $142.9 million, or 28 cents a share. The Thomson First Call average consensus called for EPS of 27 cents on revenue of $491.7 million. Adobe, however, disclosed a shareholder lawsuit regarding its proposed acquisition of Macromedia(MACR Quote). Adobe was down $1.07, or 3.3%, to finish at $31.34.