Wall Street eked out a modest advance today after investors found little motivation in remarks by Federal Reserve officials and also shrugged off a warning from chip maker National Semiconductor Inc.

Wall Street tried but failed to overcome disappointment over a jump in inflation today, closing moderately lower despite assurances by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan that the US job market will improve. The major indexes all ended the week with losses, and the Nasdaq composite index was down for the fifth straight week.