NEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks racked up a fourth straight week of gains on Thursday, as investors expected optimism about the economic recovery to support equities through year-end.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 14.00 points, or 0.12 percent, at 11,573.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.07 points, or 0.16 percent, at 1,256.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 5.88 points, or 0.22 percent, at 2,665.60.
But for the week, the Dow rose 0.7 percent, the S&P gained 1 percent and the Nasdaq was up 0.9 percent. (Reporting by Angela Moon, Editing by Leslie Adler)