By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rose on Friday, recovering some of the previous session's broad losses but were set to end the week mostly lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) climbed 59 points, or 0.4%, to 16,494.20 and was set to record a slight gain for the week. The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 4.8 points, or 0.3%, at 1,836.85 but headed for the first weekly loss in two weeks.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose 5.8 points, or 0.1% , to 4,148 but also headed for a modest weekly loss.

Volumes on Wall Street were thin with many traders still on holiday. Also, a major storm in the Northeast hampered travel and states of emergency were declared for New York and New Jersey.

"Trading volume is off at least 25% this morning and will likely be lower all day due to the mammoth snow storm and today being the last day of a holiday week. Next week volumes will rise as market participants will be back to work and investors will be re-allocating portfolios for 2014," said Channing Smith, managing director at Capital Advisors.

Investors focused on speeches from Federal Reserve officials, who gathered at an American Economic Association in Philadelphia on Friday, to look for insights into the central bank's bond-buying program and monetary policy. Last month, the Fed announced that it would start slowing down monthly asset purchases by $10 billion to $75 billion, but stressed it was committed to low interest rates until further improvements in the unemployment rate.

Critics of the bond-buying program see the Fed's $4 trillion balance sheet as a future cause of inflation, while proponents worry the withdrawal of monetary stimulus will hamper the economic recovery.

Investors digested data on December car sales, which are often seen as a barometer of consumer confidence. Ford Motor Co. (F), the second-largest auto maker, reported a 2% gain in net sales in December to 218,058 vehicles. Analysts expected a 5.9% gain. Ford shares were down 0.2% in early trade. Privately owned Chrysler Group LLC reported a 5.7% increase in sales last month to 161,007 units, missing analysts' expectations.

General Motors Co. (GM.XX) shares dropped 2.5% after the car maker reported a decline in U.S. vehicle sales for December to 230,157 units, down 6.3% from a year ago, while analysts expected a rise of 0.8%.

FireEye Inc. (FEYE) shares surged 30%. The computer-security firm on Thursday said it acquired Mandiant Corp., a company known for its report linking cyber attacks on U.S. companies to the Chinese military that was published in early 2013, in a deal worth about $1 billion.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) climbed 4.1% after the firm said its passenger unit revenue was up 10% in December.

Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) advanced 8.9% after the drug store chain said same-store sales increased 2.9% in December over the same period a year ago, due to growth in its pharmacy division.

Shares of Twitter Inc. (TWTR) rose 3.3%.

Sprint Corp. (S) shares fell 4.6%. They declined 3.3% on Thursday after a downgrade from Cowen & Co. to a market perform rating from outperform, even as the firm raised its price target on Sprint to $8.25 from $7.50.

Owens Illinois Inc. (OI) fell 2%. Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch reportedly downgraded the glass company to neutral from buy, according to the Analyst Ratings Network.

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