Market Hugs The Flatline To Close Week

The U.S. stock market closed the trading week with a flat session on Friday. The major averages spent most of the day in negative territory, but a late day rally brought the Dow and S&P slightly into the green. The Nasdaq finished with a very small loss.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added a little less than three points and closed the week just above 13,024. The widely watched index traded in a range between 12,988 and 13,053.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) closed the session down 0.02 percent while the S&P 500 cash index finished up 0.02 percent. The SPY closed the week at $142.09. Volume was light on Friday with only 105 million SPY shares trading hands compared to a three-month average of 133 million.

The PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which tracks the performance of the Nasdaq 100, fell 0.17 percent to close the day at $65.80. The broader Nasdaq Stock Market registered a loss of just 0.06 percent.

Crude oil rose for the second straight day. NYMEX crude futures, the U.S. benchmark, climbed 0.89 percent to $88.85. Brent crude contracts added 0.37 percent to $111.17. In ETF trading, the United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) jumped 1.21 percent to close at $32.56.

Precious metals recorded moderate losses on the session. COMEX gold futures fell 0.76 percent to $1,716.40 while silver futures lost 2.66 percent to $33.52. The heavily traded SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD) lost 0.71 percent to close at $166.05.

Treasury prices were slightly lower on Friday. The iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) lost 0.27 percent to $124.79. The yield on the 10-Year Note was flat at 1.62 percent.

The U.S. dollar was also down slightly on the session. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, fell 0.09 percent to $21.92. The closely watched EUR/USD pair closed at $1.2981, essentially flat on the day.

By Scott Rubin