Stocks closed higher Friday after a day of sharp price swings as bargain-hunting lifted
the beaten-down technology sector and oil companies advanced on higher crude prices.
Stocks see-sawed most of the day as the market was buffeted by worries over the housing slump and the credit crisis. But major indexes mounted a swift upturn in the last half
hour as investors bid up shares of technology companies such as BlackBerry maker Research In Motion computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard .
For the week, the Dow ended up 1%, leaving it ahead 5.7% for the year so far. The Nasdaq added 0.4% for the week and is now up 9.2% for the year. The S&P 500 gained 0.3% and is up 2.9% for the year.
"We've gotten quite oversold for quite a while," said Manny Weintraub, managing director of Integre Advisors in New York. "It seems to me it's safe to bottom-fish."
Plans for an additional $10 billion share repurchase by network equipment maker Cisco Systems also buoyed sentiment in tech shares, helping the Nasdaq snap a two-day losing streak.
Investors also bought up shares of companies seen as better positioned to withstand an economic slowdown, including consumer products maker Procter & Gamble, helping to
underpin the broader market.