US stocks preserve gains

US stocks ended an uneasy week mostly higher today, as a jury verdict against drug giant Merck & Co over its painkiller Vioxx erased much of an earlier advance fuelled by bargain hunting.

Wall Street quickly pulled back late Friday after a Texas court found Merck liable for the death of a man who took Vioxx, and awarded his estate more than $250m (€205.6m) in damages.

The overall market sill managed a small gain as bargain hunters took advantage of recent declines and bought up underperforming stocks.

The advance also held despite a jump in crude oil futures, which rose on news of demonstrations in Ecuador that have disrupted oil exports. A barrel of light crude surged $2.08 to settle at $65.35 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.30, or 0.04%, to close at 10,559.23.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 0.69, or 0.1%, to 1,219.71, while the Nasdaq composite index slipped 0.52, or 0.02%, to 2,135.56.