Nasdaq, S&P 500 at four-year highs

A late rebound gave Wall Street modest gains Friday as two acquisitions and upbeat earnings from Hewlett-Packard Co. helped lift the major indexes to four-year highs. The major indexes had their fourth straight winning week.

Lower oil prices also help stocks, easing worries about consumer spending ahead of the holiday shopping season. But many analysts remain split over whether the market will have its usual year-end rally, and trading has become erratic as mixed economic and earnings data has left investors wondering about the economy’s health.

“You’ve had a pretty good run off the October bottoms,” said Russ Koesterich, senior portfolio manager at Barclays Global Investments. “But there really are no major catalysts to help support the market coming into these levels.

“You don’t want to read too much into a Friday of late November,” he added.

Crude futures fell to five-month lows although the approaching winter weather still has many concerned about oil and gas supplies. A barrel of light crude dropped 20 cents to settle at $56.14 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

At the close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 46.11, or 0.43 percent, to 10,766.33, after retreating from a 76-point gain earlier in the day.

Broader stock indicators reached their highest levels since mid-2001. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 5.47, or 0.44 percent, at 1,248.27, and the Nasdaq composite rose 6.61, or 0.3 percent, to 2,227.07.

Bonds slipped, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.5 percent from 4.47 percent late Thursday. The U.S. dollar was mostly lower against other major currencies in European trading, while gold prices were little changed.

Although recent reports show the nation withstood the blows dealt by hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, investors continue to be uncertain about future economic growth and corporate profits. This week brought conflicting data on inflation and retail spending, raising concerns about holiday sales.

For the week, the Dow added 0.75 percent, the S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent and the Nasdaq gained 1.12 percent. However, while the indexes are at four-year highs, their performance for the year to date is mediocre at best: The Dow is down 0.15 percent, the S&P 500 is up 3 percent and the Nasdaq is 2.37 percent higher.

But improving economic and earnings figures have built a foundation on which the market could close out the year with double-digit gains, said Susan Malley, chief investment officer for Malley Associates Capital Management.

Advancing issues led decliners by 19 to 13 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume of 1.81 billion shares beat the 1.7 billion shares traded on Thursday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 5.08, or 0.76 percent, to 672.22.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average surged 1.47 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.71 percent, Germany’s DAX index added 0.47 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was higher by 0.73 percent.