US stocks flat

Wall Street ended a big week on a quiet but encouraging note yesterday, as modest stock gains lifted the Nasdaq to its first five-session winning streak in seven months.

The Dow Jones industrials also returned to levels not seen in more than five weeks, despite choppy trading that caused the major indexes to fluctuate for most of the session.

It closed up 63.87 at 10,353.08, the Nasdaq gained 10.95 to 1,741.39 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 8.36 to 1,106.59.

The index's weekly performances were also solid. The Dow gained 4.1%, the Nasdaq rose 8.8% and the S&P climbed 4.9%.

Analysts said the market's ability to hold steady, rather than fall sharply on profit taking or fears that the week's big advance would fizzle, suggests investor confidence is slowly recovering.

Dell rose 9 cents to $27.94 on earnings that beat expectations despite a slight drop in first-quarter profits. The company also raised its forecast for second-quarter profits. Other tech stocks were mixed. Microsoft dropped 1 cent to $55.73, while Intel rose 22 cents to $30.99.

Wall Street was pleased with, but not inspired by, a University of Michigan report on consumer sentiment. The school's index rose to 96 in mid-May from 93 in mid April, Dow Jones News reported.

Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy, so any improvement in consumer sentiment is considered good for business.

Retailer Gap dropped 52 cents to $16.37 on first-quarter earnings that beat expectations but still showed weak sales.

Also today, the Commerce Department reported that the sale of American goods overseas grew at a slightly faster rate than imports in March. The trade deficit fell to $31.6bn (€34.3bn), 0.4% better than the February gap.