* Oracle, RIM jump after quarterly results
* Quadruple witching expected to be muted
* Indexes up: Dow 0.07 pct, S&P 0.07 pct, Nasdaq 0.5 pct (Updates to afternoon)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Sept 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher on Friday after solid earnings from Oracle and Research In Motion, but the traditional trading volatility expected by the expiration of options was not expected to create much havoc.
The close of trading on Friday marks the quarterly expiration of September equity futures and option contracts, a convergence known as "quadruple witching," which may increase volume and swings in trades. Strategists said, however, trading was relatively subdued heading into the close.
"I'm very surprised that with a quadruple witching hour this Friday as well as the weekend prior, very, very little has happened, and that almost always smokes out some kind of volatility, whether up or down," said Cummins Catherwood, managing director at Boenning and Scattergood in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
"The volume has been dead and the volatility has been nil, it's absolutely wild."
The S&P 500 managed to overcome briefly key technical resistance around 1,130, pushing through intraday highs from June and August. A decisive move above that level on solid volume would be a bullish sign.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 7.23 points, or 0.07 percent, to 10,602.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.79 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,125.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 11.33 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,314.58.
Support for the S&P 500's 200-day moving average remains around 1,116, a level it vaulted on Monday.
However, volume could taper off in the afternoon as some traders are expected to leave early to observe Yom Kippur.
Oracle Corp, the world's No. 3 software maker, and Research In Motion Ltd, which makes the BlackBerry smartphone, led the Nasdaq after they posted better-than-expected results and gave outlooks that topped Wall Street's forecasts.
Oracle jumped 7.9 percent at $27.35, while RIM rose 1.6 percent to $47.25.
Texas Instruments Inc gained 2.8 percent to $25.68 after the chipmaker increased its stock repurchase program and boosted its quarterly dividend by 8 percent.
The option expirations meant options trading had its busiest day in a year on Thursday, led by a surge in call trades. The total put-to-call ratio, often used to gauge market sentiment, fell to its lowest level since Dec. 24, 2009, according to Scott Fullman, director of derivative investment strategy at WJB Capital Group.