U.S. stocks traded slightly higher Friday, even as oil flirted near the $50-per-barrel mark, suggesting that investors were snatching up beaten-down shares and growing confident that oil prices may be leveling off. High crude prices boosted shares in oil production companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and ChevronTexaco Corp., which in turn gave a lift to the Dow. "With the market being so depressed over the past few weeks, I think what you're seeing today is a lot of bottom fishing," said Stephen Carl, principal and head of U.S. Equity Trading, at The Williams Capital Group LP. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 13.13 points, or 0.13 percent, at 10,053.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.73 points, or 0.25 percent, at 1,093.96. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.74 points, or 0.37 percent, at 1,826.50. The benchmark indexes were on pace to have their biggest weekly gains in at least three months. In the past week, the S&P 500 has risen 2.67 percent, its biggest gain since the week ended April 2. The Nasdaq has climbed 3.87 percent, while the Dow has gained 2.26 percent in the last week, their its biggest move since the week ended May 28. --More 1929 Local Time 1629 GMT
