NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - Encouraging economic indicators sent U.S. stocks higher on Friday, but the market's recent struggles are set to continue into next week when more than one-fifth of S&P 500 companies report results.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 56.68 points, or 0.46 percent, to end unofficially at 12,341.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 5.16 points, or 0.39 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,319.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 4.43 points, or 0.16 percent, to close unofficially at 2,764.65.
For the week, the Dow slipped 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 declined 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq shed 0.6 percent. (Reporting by Ed Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)