By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rose on Friday, extending
their gains for the week and month with retail stocks in focus as
holiday shoppers packed stores.
The main indexes are working for record closes again, in what
would be a sixth straight all-time closing high for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average. Volumes are expected to be light Friday given
that many traders are still on vacation following the Thanksgiving
holiday and the trading session will end at 1 p.m. Eastern time,
three hours earlier than normal.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was last up 4 points, or 0.2%, to 1,811,
while the Dow(DJI) advanced 45 points, or 0.3%, to 16,142.
The Nasdaq Composite(RIXF) rose 17 points, or 0.4%, to
4,061.
The S&P 500 is on pace for gains of 0.4% for the week and
3.1% for the month; the Dow is on track for gains of 0.5% and 3.8%,
respectively. The Nasdaq is on track to rise 1.7% for the week and
3.6% for November.
Among retail stocks, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT) and Target
Corp.(TGT) already have disclosed robust sales on Thanksgiving,
which is increasingly drawing shoppers who previously waited until
promotions on Black Friday to start spending. Wal-Mart was last up
0.4%, while Target gained 0.6%. Read more: Wal-Mart, Target report
strong Thanksgiving sales.
"Any indication that the recent drop in consumer sentiment in
the U.S. is encouraging them to avoid these sales could be seen as
a sign that Christmas sales as a whole will be disappointing," said
Craig Erlam, markets analyst at Alpari U.K. "Given the popularity
of Black Friday in the past, this seems unlikely, but investors
will certainly be watching this with interest throughout the
day."
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks rose, lifting the S&P 500 and Dow
to record closes, while the Nasdaq scored a 13-year closing high.
The market was closed Thursday for Thanksgiving.
* The buzz: "My sense is that retailers will have to raise their
level of promotions to close more sales," said Brian Sozzi, chief
equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors, in a note Friday. He
added that outside of Wal-Mart, the strongest start to the season
from his vantage point came at Best Buy Co. , thanks to factors
such as its price-matching efforts. Best Buy was last up 1.2%. On
the other hand, MarketWatch columnist Jeff Reeves argues that Black
Friday doesn't matter, saying it's mostly hype.
* Today's movers & shakers: J.C. Penney Co. rose 1.7% in its
last day of trading as an S&P 500 component, while Chinese
social-media firm Renren Inc. slid 10% after posting a
wider-than-expected loss late Wednesday. Read more in the Movers
& Shakers column.
* Other markets: European stocks were up slightly, while Asian
equities closed mixed, as Japan stocks were down from a six-year
high a day earlier. Oil and gold prices rose.
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