Wall Street stocks wobbled higher overnight as investors digested mixed economic data and braced for the results next week of "stress tests'' on the US banking system.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 44.29 points (0.5%) to finish at 8212.41.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite ticked up 1.90 points (0.1%) to 1719.20 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.71 points (0.5%) to 877.52.
Economic reports provided conflicting recovery signals on the sick economy now in its 18th month of recession.
The troubled manufacturing sector contracted in April for a 15th consecutive month, the Institute of Supply Management said, but the pace of decline was less severe than most analysts projected.
The Commerce Department reported factory orders fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.9% in March, in line with expectations after a surprise February increase that had snapped a six-month decline.
"The data is still mixed and far from anything solid. While the common theme here is still a contraction, it keeps feeling like a slower contraction,'' said Jon Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street.
Investors were on tenterhooks waiting for authorities to announce the results of stress tests on the biggest 19 banks that received public bailouts, now expected next Thursday.
"The timing of the release of bank stress tests may be giving the market some jitters,'' said Al Goldman at Wachovia Securities.
Bank of America dropped 2.6% to $US8.61, JPMorgan Chase shed 1.5% to $US32.49 and Wells Fargo lost 2% to $US19.61.
Citigroup, which is trying to raise capital to pay off $US45 billion ($A62.06 billion) in public aid, fell 2.6% to $US2.97 after announcing a deal to sell its Japanese brokerage Nikko Cordial to Japanese megabank Sumitomo Mitsui which was expected to generate $US2.5 billion ($A3.45 billion) in equity.
Among other stocks in focus, Alcoa added a hefty 6.8% to $US9.69. The aluminum producer said it was to sell to Platinum Equity most of its electricity equipment business, which employs about 17,500 people worldwide, for an undisclosed sum.
The market punished firms with earnings reports including credit card company Mastercard, down 5.7% at $US172.90, and insurer MetLife, off 7.7% at $US27.45.
Car stocks were under pressure after dismal April sales reports and Chrysler's appearance at a bankruptcy court hearing in New York a day after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
General Motors skidded 5.7% to $US1.81 and Ford fell 4.8% to $US5.69.
A strong surge in crude prices lifted oil majors. ExxonMobil leapt 2% to $US68.01 and Chevron rose 1.2% to $US66.87 after reporting a better-than-expected profit plunge in the first quarter.
"The earnings news continues to be somewhere between awful and really bad for most companies, but above expectations, which has given Wall Street a lift over the last month,'' Mr Dickson said.
April produced powerful gains, pushing the Dow up 7.3%, the Nasdaq a hefty 12.3% and the S&P by 9.4%, marking its best month-on-month rally in more than nine years.
The bond market dipped on Friday. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 3.174% from 3.124% on Thursday and that on the 30-year bond advanced to 4.088% from 4.044%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions.
AFP
