A Mixed Session

Indices ended mixed on Friday. The Dow and S&P 500 added slight gains. The Nasdaq closed fractionally lower. Hewlett-Packard, Alcoa, and Merck led the Dow’s advance. When all was said and done, trading was fairly flat. Meanwhile, crude oil slipped by 64 cents to settle at $93.32 a barrel. On another note, consumer confidence increased this month. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index climbed to 60.9 from 59.4 in September. The result exceeded expectations of a drop to 58. Looking ahead to next week, the Federal Reserve will kick off a two-day policy meeting and earnings season continues with results due from Time Warner.

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