Wall Street rose smartly in a quiet session Friday as investors adjusted positions ahead of a long holiday weekend and tried to determine whether a lackluster week heralded a departure from the market's months-long run-up or merely a temporary pause.
Stocks advanced after a pullback Thursday and as investors drew some optimism from the Nasdaq Stock Market's deal to acquire Swedish stock exchange operator OMX.
But investors showed little reaction to the National Assn. of Realtors' report that sales of existing homes fell 2.6% in April to 5.99 million units, the slowest sales rate in almost four years.
Given Wall Street's robust performance in recent months, a pullback this week in which investors consolidated gains wasn't unexpected.
However, the week began with a flourish that could have been seen as suggesting further gains: The Standard & Poor's 500 index traded above its record close for the first time in more than seven years.
But concerns over the continued strength of the market's run and comments from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan about the possibility of a sharp pullback in Chinese stocks left some investors unnerved.
"It's just a very, very wacky market," said Ted Aronson, a partner at Aronson Johnson Ortiz, referring to the overall mood on Wall Street.
He says the implications of a still-settling housing market are difficult to quantify and give him pause, though he is still mostly bullish.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 66.15 points, or 0.5%, to 13,507.28. The Dow had fallen in the previous four sessions.
Broader stock indicators also rose.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 8.22 points, or 0.6%, to 1,515.73, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 19.27 points, or 0.8%, to 2,557.19.
For the week, the Dow industrials lost 0.4%, the S&P 500 gave up 0.5% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.05%.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.86%, from 4.84% on Thursday.
Crude oil futures rose $1.02 to $65.20 a barrel in New York trading.
Stocks rose Friday in part after Nasdaq announced its $3.67-billion deal. The move gives the stock market an entrance to Europe through OMX, which operates exchanges in seven Nordic countries.
It will become the world's second trans-Atlantic exchange after the New York Stock Exchange bought Paris-based Euronext this year.
Nasdaq's stock fell $1.14 to $32.84.
