Stocks Finish Higher

U.S. indexes ended with gains for the fifth straight session after struggling for direction during Friday's abbreviated trading

U.S. stocks, wrapped up a dismal November by closing higher on Friday after struggling for direction in slow post-Thanksgiving trading.

There were no major U.S. economic reports scheduled on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday, and U.S. financial markets closed early.

Bond soared for the third consecutive session Friday amid flight to safety buying. The U.S. dollar index was higher. Gold futures were higher. Oil futures were lower before Saturday's OPEC meeting.

On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 102.43 points, or 1.17%, at 8,829.04. The broad S&P 500 index gained 8.56 points, or 0.96%, to 896.24. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 3.47 points, or 0.23%, to 1,535.57.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 20 stocks were higher in price for every 9 that declined. The ratio on the Nasdaq was 17-8 positive.

The stock market saw some volatility Friday as investors and traders adjusted their portfolios on the last trading day of November, says S&P MarketScope.. Stocks posted gains for the fifth consecutive session on Friday, but that run only somewhat brightened a dismal November.

Reports earlier in the week pointed to a U.S. economy in the grip of recession. Next week's jobs report is likely to confirm that presumption, says S&P MarketScope. "[It's] hard to tell if investors [are] discounting a slowdown already," says S&P.

AFP reports Germany's second biggest bank, Commerzbank, said it will take over number three Dresdner Bank sooner than expected and for nearly half the original price, calming investors who feared the deal might fall through. As it buys a remaining 40% stake in Dresdner from insurance giant Allianz, Commerzbank will finalize the takeover in January instead of the second half of 2009, and cut the deal's price nearly by half, a Commerzbank statement said. Commerzbank already owns 60% of Dresdner and will pay 1.4 billion euros ($1.8 billion) for the remainder. The bank said the total price for Dresdner would come to 5.124 billion euros, about 48% less than the original price tag of 9.792 billion. An Allianz statement quoted chief executive Michael Diekmann as saying: "Given the current situation in the financial markets, an accelerated takeover of Dresdner Bank by Commerzbank is advantageous for all parties involved.

Meanwhile, the British government will become a majority owner of the Royal Bank of Scotland under a sweeping recapitalization of the crippled bank that will hand the state a 58% stake, according to an AFP report. RBS said ordinary shareholders had agreed to take up only 0.24% of a 15-billion-pound share issue, with the government then taking up the balance. "We regret that existing shareholders did not take up their pre-emptive rights (to the new shares) but understand that market sentiment toward the banking sector made this uneconomic in the short term," the bank's new chief executive Stephen Hester said.

Traders are bracing for possible interest rate cuts by the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in bid to combat growing signs of a severe global recession. Eurostat said euro zone unemployment rose to 7.7%% in October from an upwardly revised 7.6% in September and consumer price inflation in the 15-country euro area fell by 1.1% to 2.1% this month.

The Confederation of British Industry's distributive trades survey balance slid to -46 from -27 in October, much worse than the drop to -35 which economists had forecast.

Among Friday's stocks in the news, STMicroelectronics (STM) sees Fourth-quarter revenue below its previous forecast, at $2.2 billion-$2.35 billion, down sequentially about 12.8%-18.4%. The company cites a recent slowdown in billings, and recent and substantial changes in customers' demand and order push-outs for December.