US Market bounces back from 3-day losing streak (ext)

NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose in light volume on Friday, buoyed by rising energy and basic materials shares, as the S&P 500 kept showing resilience even as it posted its second negative week so far this year.

The benchmark S&P 500 slipped 0.5 percent for the week. In an indication of the rally's strength and consistency, that was the S&P's worst performance since the last week of December. In its only other down week in 2012, the index dipped 0.17 percent.

The market edged lower in early trading, but downward momentum faded despite widespread expectations for a correction after a rally that set the S&P 500 up for its best back-to-back quarters since 2009.

The S&P 500 is still near its highest since May 2008.

"There's many people thinking a correction is coming, but some technical indicators suggest more a pause than a correction at this point," said Todd Salamone, director of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati.

The S&P 500 found strong support at its 14-day moving average, near 1,386, from where it bounced back to post gains for the day. Holding that level "speaks to the power of the uptrend, it proves the momentum is still in place," Salamone said.

Analysts see sector rotation as an indication of investors' reluctance to abandon stocks and a sign of potential strength for the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 34.59 points, or 0.27 percent, to 13,080.73 at the close. The S&P 500 Index rose 4.33 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,397.11. The Nasdaq Composite added 4.60 points, or 0.15 percent, to 3,067.92.

U.S. crude oil futures prices rose 1.4 percent to settle at $106.87 a barrel on estimates that Iranian oil exports fell significantly this month.

New U.S. single-family home sales fell 1.6 percent in February while prices jumped to their highest level in eight months, according to a government report on Friday that was the latest to paint a mixed picture of the housing market.A series of blunders hit the market debut of BATS Global Markets Exchange, causing its own shares to erroneously trade for less than a penny. The company said it would withdraw its IPO.

The problems also fouled a trade in shares of Apple Inc , and caused a temporary halt in its shares. The erroneous Apple trade was later canceled.

In Nasdaq trading, Apple lost 0.5 percent to $596.05.