US Stocks Rise Thursday, Lower for Week12/08 15:46

   Technology companies helped lift stocks Thursday, ending a five-day losing 
streak for the S&P 500, though the major indexes remain on pace for a weekly 
loss.

   (AP) -- Technology companies helped lift stocks Thursday, ending a five-day 
losing streak for the S&P 500, though the major indexes remain on pace for a 
weekly loss.

   The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed 1.1% 
higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%.

   Major indexes are all in the red for the week and have been swinging between 
big monthly gains and losses throughout the year. Investors' worries about 
inflation, rising interest rates and recession risks have made for a volatile 
market. That has also left Wall Street focused on data points on the economy, 
especially those regarding inflation.

   "We'll continue to see outsized moves in the markets over the coming 
months," said Jeff Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles 
Schwab. "We're going to be feeling our way through and there's going to be a 
lot of volatility."

   The S&P 500 rose 29.59 points to 3,963.51. The Nasdaq gained 123.45 points 
to 11,082, and the Dow rose 183.56 points to 33,781.48.

   Tech stocks powered much of the rally, along with health care companies and 
retailers. Chipmaker Nvidia climbed 6.5%, Pfizer rose 3.1% and Nike gained 2.8%.

   Communication services stocks posted some of the biggest losses. T-Mobile US 
slid 3.3%.

   Energy stocks also fell. The price of U.S. crude oil settled 0.8% lower at 
$71.46 per barrel, another low point for the year. ConocoPhillips dropped 2%.

   Activision Blizzard lost 1.5% after the Federal Trade Commission said it is 
suing to block Microsoft's planned $69 billion takeover of the video game 
company, saying it could suppress competitors to its Xbox game consoles and its 
growing games subscription business. Microsoft rose 1.2%.

   Small company stocks gained ground. The Russell 2000 index added 11.39 
points, or 0.6%, to 1,818.29.

   Bond yields mostly rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which helps 
set mortgage rate s, increased to 3.49% from 3.42% late Wednesday.

   Markets in Europe closed mostly lower, while markets in Asia ended mixed.

   On Thursday, the U.S. reported slightly more Americans filed for jobless 
claims last week, but not as many as economists had forecast. The labor market 
remains one of the strongest pockets of the economy, which has been stifled 
under the weight of stubbornly hot inflation and rising interest rates.

   Low unemployment is good for the broader economy but makes it more difficult 
for the Federal Reserve to tame inflation. The central bank has been raising 
interest rates to curb borrowing and spending in order to cool stubbornly hot 
inflation in decades. Its benchmark interest rate sits at 3.75% to 4%, the 
highest in 15 years.

   The Fed will meet next week and is expected to raise its benchmark interest 
rate by a half-percentage point.

   Resilient consumer spending, which is partly tied to strong employment, has 
also made the fight against inflation more difficult. It has been keeping the 
economy strong enough to stay out of a recession, analysts have said, but it is 
also increasing the chances that the Fed will go too far in raising interest 
rates. The Fed could potentially cause a recession by hitting the brakes too 
hard on the economy.

   Wall Street will get more insight into how consumers feel about inflation 
and the economy on Friday when the University of Michigan releases its consumer 
sentiment survey for December. Investors will also get an update on how 
inflation is impacting businesses when the government releases its latest 
monthly report on wholesale prices Friday.