Stocks Ease Out of Winning Week

Updated from 4:16 p.m. EDT

Blue-chip stocks in the U.S. finished little changed following an earlier slide, though tech shares remained a bit under the weather Friday, as investors once again showed resilience in the face of soaring oil prices and dour economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, down nearly 100 points in the morning, closed off just 5.86 points, or 0.05%, at 12,986.80. The S&P 500 turned positive in the final hour, rising 1.78 points, or 0.13%, to finish at 1425.35. The Nasdaq Composite ended down 4.88 points, or 0.19%, to 2528.85.

Breadth was mixed to end the week. About 1.90 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, with advancing issues edging past decliners by a 5-to-4 margin. On the Nasdaq, volume reached 2.27 billion shares as losers outpaced winners nearly 3 to 2.

Stocks stabilized despite disappointing numbers that rattled traders early on. One letdown was the University of Michigan's preliminary May consumer confidence index, which eased by almost another 3 points to a 28-year low of 59.5, reflecting worsening sentiment on both current and future economic conditions. That fell short of projections for a dip to 62.

Though the report reflects deterioration that has already occurred, it still tends to be a closely watched gauge on the health of U.S. consumers, who over the past few months have been buffeted by worries about the economy.

"It's clear the housing prices, rising food prices and energy prices are the big things that are weighing on consumers' minds now," said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist with Global Insight. "But I have to say, as of right now, the sort of numbers we've seen on consumer spending haven't been anywhere near as bad as you might have expected, given where sentiment numbers are going."