Wall Street ends week on firm note despite mixed signals

A late surge on Wall Street left major stock indexes with modest gains at the end of a week in which investor sentiment about future economic prospects swung widely.

Mixed signals about the US consumer kept the market in check through most of Friday's session, with lower retail sales in May but higher consumer confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 managed to break into positive territory in the last half hour of trading. The Nasdaq Composite Index, which traded with a slight gain for most of the day, added to that rally.

Retail sales tumbled 1.2%, in the first drop since September 2009. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires were expecting a 0.2% increase. Meanwhile, the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer-sentiment survey for June rose to 75.5, above the 74 reading expected by economists.

The Dow ended 38.54 points higher, up 0.4%, at 10211.07, up 2.8% for the week. The S&P edged up 0.4% to 1091.60, up 2.5% for the week. The Nasdaq rose 1.1% to 2243.60, helped by a second straight day of gains among chipmakers. It rose 1.1% for the week.

Other markets: Europe, Asia up

European shares closed higher for a third consecutive sessions, driven by strong gains for Spanish lenders and continued recovery for hard-hit BP.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index finished up 0.4% to 249.39, giving it a gain of 2% for the week. It briefly fell into the red on lower US retail sales but moved higher again on improving consumer confidence.

The German DAX index edged down 0.1% to 6047.83. The UK FTSE 100 index rose 0.6% to 5163.68 and the French CAC-40 index climbed 1.1% to 3555.52.

Japan led Asian markets higher Friday after the resignation of Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei.

Banks stocks climbed on the news that Mr Kamei, chief of the People's New Party, was quitting in protest at the Democratic Party of Japan's decision to postpone postal overhaul bills until the next Diet (Parliament) session. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.7% to 9705.25.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.6% to 4505.45 as resource stocks rose after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said talks with miners probably would yield a deal on the controversial 40% super profit tax on mining companies.

Korea's Kospi rose 1.4% to 1675.34 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 1.2% to 19872.38. The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.3% at 2569.94.

India’s Sensex advanced 0.8% to 17,064.95, helped by economic data showing the country's industrial production surged in April from a year earlier.

Commodities: Oil down, gold up

Oil futures prices dropped as weak US retail sales data stirred fresh worries about the pace of economic recovery in the world's biggest oil consumer.

Light, sweet crude oil futures for July delivery in New York settled down $1.70 a barrel, or 2.3%, at $US73.78 a barrel.

Crude snapped a three-day rally that had lifted prices by a little more than $US4 a barrel to a four-week high above $US75 a barrel on Thursday. Now the contract looks likely to challenge the low end of a $US68-78 a barrel range.

Gold futures gained as investors shied away from riskier assets as US retail data disappointed.

The most-actively traded gold contract, for August delivery, rose $US8, or 0.7%, to settle at $US1230.20 an ounce in New York.

The bounce in gold came after two losing sessions as economic data and official comments boosted optimism about the US, European and Chinese economies.

Currencies: Dollar up, euro down

The dollar strengthened as investors sought safety and shed riskier assets amid concerns that the global economic recovery could be slowing.

The euro snapped a three-day winning streak, but remained above its 10-year moving average at $US1.20.

The euro ended the week at $US1.2094, compared with $US1.2141 late on Thursday. The dollar strengthened to ¥91.68 from ¥91.31.

The euro moved to ¥110.87 from ¥110.86. The UK pound weakened to $US1.4528 from $US1.4712.