US stocks on the up

US stocks ended higher today after another record high for gold lifted shares of minerals companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 16 points, extending its gains to a fourth day. Broader indexes also edged higher as the price of gold settled at a record level for a second straight day.

That lifted shares of mining companies like Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining. Meanwhile, Dow component Caterpillar also gained after reporting higher sales.

Other corporate news also brought out some buyers. Chemists CVS Caremark and Walgreen ended a contract dispute that threatened to hurt profits; CVS shares rose 1.9%, while Walgreen climbed 2.8%.

The Dow posted its second consecutive weekly gain. Before that, the Dow had been down for three weeks, leading to investors trying to determine whether the stock market's "correction" is over.

A correction is generally considered a drop of 10-20% from a recent peak. The Dow has risen back 6.4% from its lowest close of the year on June 7, but it is still down 6.7% from the 2010 high it reached on April 26.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 16.47, or 0.2%, to close at 10,450.64. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.47, or 0.1%, to 1,117.51. The Nasdaq composite index edged up 2.64, or 0.1%, to 2,309.80.

Advancing stocks narrowly outpaced those that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.8 billion shares versus 1.2 billion the day before. Volume was heavier because of the simultaneous expiration of four kinds of futures and options contracts, which occurs once every quarter.