• Step Back: Gorman to succeed CEO Mack at Morgan Stanley.
• Consumers Rally: Sentiment hits new recent high.
• Soup Strains: Campbell earnings beat Street.
• Oil Ebbs: Crude drops 3%.

The Lowdown

Stocks closed down at the end of Friday trading, the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 22 at 9605. The Dow also closed at 9605 on Sept. 10, 2001. The Nasdaq closed down 3 at 2081, and the S&P 500 was down 1 at 1043.

The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment rose to 70.2, its best reading since June and a sign that consumers are starting, slowly, to believe the economy is getting better. "Confidence rebounded in early September as consumers increasingly expected the economy to improve despite their reluctant conclusion that their own financial situation would remain quite problematic for some time," the survey said.

"The weak dollar presses all assets higher: gold, oil, even stocks," said Jamie Cox, Managing Partner of Harris Financial Group in Colonial Heights, Va. "Everything is catching a bid with the weak dollar play. That s the key issue for today and probably for the rest of the year."

Strong economic data from China helped keep stocks moving forward. Chinese industrial output rose 12%, new loans increased and retail sales climbed 15%. Concerns that banks could curb lending later this year had earlier hurt Chinese stocks. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 2.2% on Friday.

Signs of strength abroad put fresh pressure on the dollar, which has fallen to its lowest levels of the year this week amid signs that overseas economies may be pulling out of recession more quickly than the U.S. The greenback continued to fall against the euro and was especially weak against the yen, dropping to 90.85 yen in recent trading, compared to 91.70 late Thursday in New York.

The weakness in the dollar pushed gold futures to $1,007 an ounce as of 4:02 p.m., near the highest level since February.

Crude futures traded on the Nymex closed down $2.75 to $69.29. It rose 5 cents in late trading to $69.34 a barrel.

Corporate News

• Campbell Soup (CPB) reported operating earnings of 30 cents a share for its fiscal fourth quarter, up from 24 cents a share a year ago. Wall Street analysts expected, on average, earnings of 26 cents a share. After one-time items, earnings were 20 cents a share. For 2010 the Camden, N.J. soup maker sees adjusted earnings-per-share growth of 5% to 7%. STORY
• Chip maker National Semiconductor (NSM) reported earnings of 13 cents a share, down 33 cents a share a year earlier. Wall Street analysts forecast earnings of 7 cents a share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters. STORY
• Chairman and CEO John Mack will step down from the chief executive role at Morgan Stanley (MS) early next year. Brokerage chief James Gorman will ascend to the CEO spot, and Mack will remain as chairman, the firm said. STORY

The Economy

• The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment rose to 70.2, the highest level since June, from 65.7 in August. The results beat economists' median expectation of a reading of 67.3, according to a Reuters poll. STORY
• The index of consumer expectations climbed to 69.2 in early September, up from 65.0 in August. "Confidence rebounded in early September as consumers increasingly expected the economy to improve despite their reluctant conclusion that their own financial situation would remain quite problematic for some time," the survey said.

Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report.