Stocks ended mixed Friday, at the end of another positive week, as investors considered the Greece financial rescue package, reports of a possible naval conflict between the two Koreas, and a weaker U.S. dollar. Stocks rose through the early afternoon after European leaders agreed to a rescue plan for Greece and other debt-plagued euro-zone countries, cooling worries of a default that would roil global markets. The Greece news overshadowed a report showing that the U.S. economy grew at a slower pace that initially believed in the fourth quarter of 2009. But reports of a conflict between North and South Korea caused some stock selling, and analysts said the market was ready for a drop after hitting 18-month highs on Wednesday. The three major indexes have risen in six of the last seven weeks. In economic news, U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth was revised down to an annual rate of 5.6 percent from the previously estimated 5.9 percent. A second report showed U.S. consumer sentiment rose in late March from earlier in the month. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro after news of the Greece rescue sent the European currency soaring. Light sweet crude oil for May delivery fell 53 cents to $80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold for May delivery rose $11.30 to $1,105.40 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.15, or 0.1 percent, to 10,850.36. Exxon Mobil and Chevron were the index's biggest gainers, as commodity stocks were helped by the declining U.S. dollar. Financial companies also rose, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Travelers. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.86, or 0.1 percent, to 1,166.59. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 2.28, or 0.1 percent, to 2,395.13. Shares of Microsoft fell 1 percent, and shares of Oracle fell more than 1 percent after the company reported weaker profits and higher revenue.
