Stocks finished flat as a new record for oil prices overshadowed a better-than-expected report on housing. Still, for the week, all three major indexes managed decent gains: The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed nearly 2 percent; the S&P 500 index advanced about 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq jumped more than 3 percent.

Stocks recovered most of their losses and were mixed in the final hour of trading as oil prices pulled back toward $126 a barrel.

Stocks declined after a report showed consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level in 28 years.  The market had opened with some optimism after a jump in housing starts, but the souring of consumer sentiment, and a jump in oil above $!27 a barrel, curbed gains.

Lockheed Martin won a potential $3.6 billion contract to start building a new generation of global positioning satellites that will boost accuracy for worldwide users, the Air Force said Thursday.