Stocks Finish Week Modestly Higher

New York, NY (AHN) - All three major indices opened higher Friday on a positive durable goods report. However, markets churned sideways for the session, finishing the week with modest gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial average added 21 points or 0.2 percent as no real conviction on the buy side or sell side took hold. Of the Dow components, 18 were up and 12 finished lower.

The S&P 500 added 5 points or 0.2 percent as there were no substantial moves from any of the major economic sectors. The financial sector closed the session up 0.6 percent.

Tech was the strongest percentage gainer with the Nasdaq Composite rising 30 points or 1.3 percent on Friday. Google, Apple and Microsoft were all strong, helping to push the Nasdaq higher.

Oil finished the week lower, sliding $2.23 on Friday to settle at $123.26 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The commodity is now down 19 percent from the all-time high set just a few weeks ago.

On the economic front, June durable goods orders rose a total of 0.8 percent. The increase is better than the 0.4 percent economists expected and marks the biggest increase since February.

The Commerce Department said June home sales fell 0.6 percent to an annual rate of 530,000 units. The result was better than the 505,000 units economists expected.

The markets also received the latest Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment data. The index reading was 61.2, which shows a positive move in sentiment as it is much higher than the June reading of 56.4.