Dow Ends to Downside

Elsewhere, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index slipped to a revised January reading of 96.9 from a preliminary 98.0. Economists expected a slight decrease to 97.8.

Additionally, the Commerce Department said that factory orders rose a greater-than-expected 2.4% during December.

All told, the Dow was higher for the week by 166 points, or 1.3%. The Nasdaq rose 41 points, or 1.7%, and the S&P 500 added 26 points, or 1.8%.

Roughly 2.58 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange. Advancers beat decliners by a 9-to-7 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached nearly 1.92 billion shares, with winners outpacing losers 8 to 7.

On the commodities front, oil futures jumped $1.72 to close at $59.02 a barrel. Natural gas was lower, down 5 cents to $7.48 per million British thermal units. Gold finished lower by $11.50 at $651.50 an ounce, and silver tumbled 35 cents at $13.37 an ounce.

Stocks are coming off a day on which the Dow rose 51.99 points, or 0.41%, to 12,673.68, a record closing high. The S&P 500 gained 7.70 points, or 0.54%, to 1445.94, and the Nasdaq overcame declines in Google (GOOG Quote) and Dell (DELL Quote) to tack on 4.45 points, or 0.18%, to 2468.38.

After the close, another tech heavyweight, Amazon.com (AMZN Quote), posted earnings that exceeded analysts' fourth-quarter expectations and lifted its revenue outlook for the first quarter.

Still, the Internet bookseller's shares fell by $1.31, or 3.4%, to end the day at $37.39.

Also following the last close, video-game maker Electronic Arts (ERTS Quote) reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $160 million, or 50 cents a share, falling 38% from the year-ago period. Excluding items, the company earned 63 cents a share, beating estimates, and the stock gained 59 cents, or 1.2%, to $51.13.

Chevron (CVX Quote) posted a fourth-quarter profit of $3.77 billion, or $1.74 a share, down 9% from the year-ago quarter due to a decline in natural gas prices. Still, results beat the Thomson First Call consensus by a penny. Chevron slid 43 cents, or 0.6%, to $74.04.

Elsewhere, Ericsson (ERIC Quote) slumped 5.6% to $37.12 after CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg said the cell-phone infrastructure market might grow only about 5% this year rather than earlier predictions of 5% to 9%. However, the company didn't cut its own forecasts.

Among ratings changes, Banc of America Securities upgraded Microsoft (MSFT Quote) to buy from neutral, citing the likelihood of higher earnings for fiscal 2008 than current expectations. Microsoft was off 37 cents, or 1.2%, to close at $30.19.

Shares of FedEx (FDX Quote) rose after Deutsche Securities upgraded the shipper to buy from hold while raising its stock price target to $130 from $117. The stock added $3.09, or 2.8%, to $114.98.

Equities were mostly stronger overseas. Frankfurt's Xetra DAX tacked on 0.5% at 6886, while London's FTSE rose 0.5% at 6311. Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.2% overnight to 17,547, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.7% to 20,563.

1 What would best describe your stance heading into the coming week of trading? Bullish Bearish Neutral 2 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move up in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities 3 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move down in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities View the results without voting