Stocks End the Week on a Down Note

Stocks stayed subdued Friday afternoon, and the broader market lost ground for the third straight day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 14 to 10318. The Nasdaq ebbed 11 to 2146 and the S&P 500 slipped 4 at 1091.

For the five-day session, the Dow added 0.4% and the S&P 500 crept down 0.1%. The Nasdaq fell 1% for the week with much of the damage coming Thursday after an analyst downgraded the semiconductor sector.

The technology sector faced pressure again after Dell (DELL) said late Thursday that its net profit dropped 54%, hurt by light corporate spending on computers.

Energy stocks were also weaker with the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index and NYSE Energy index falling 2.2% and 1.2%, respectively, while crude oil declined 58 cents to settle at $77.47 a barrel.

Retailers continued to make headlines as Gap (GPS) reported a 25% increase in third quarter profit, in line with expectations, and Ann Taylor (ANN) topped estimates but forecast lackluster fourth-quarter results. Gap added 0.4% while Ann Taylor shares shifted 1.4% lower.

Outside of stocks, gold added $4.90 to settle at $1,146.80 an ounce. The dollar and the yen were higher in foreign markets. The euro was trading at $1.4878 from $1.492. The pound fell to $1.6539 from $1.6658.

Some Treasury bills maturing in early 2010 traded at yields slightly below zero as bond prices rose, a sign of strong investor demand for the safest securities, as they are effectively paying the government to keep their money secure.

Bill yields last fell below zero was in late 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, triggered by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.

On Friday, the yield on two-year Treasury bonds fell one basis point to 0.69 percentage point and the yield on the 10-year rose one basis point to 3.35%.

Overseas, the Nikkei 225 closed 0.5% weaker in Tokyo, and the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 was down.

Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report.