US MARKET

Stocks End Short Session With 5th Straight Gain

Wall Street climbed again Friday, wrapping up its biggest five-day rally in more than 75 years, even as investors digested signs of a bleak holiday season for retailers and fears that a flurry of reports next week will show more economic distress.

On the short trading day, investors snapped up the battered shares of blue-chip stalwarts Citigroup Inc., General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., fueling a rally that has surprised many market experts whipsawed by wild swings during the past three months.

While the stock market's strong rebound was certainly welcome, analysts were hesitant about getting too optimistic. Not only did were trading volumes very light on Friday, but investors will be digesting a slew of economic data next week ranging from a reading on the manufacturing sector to the all-important employment report from the Labor Department. Both are expected to be dismal.

"We're seeing some confidence come back into this stock market, but I don't think that's necessarily a reason to be dropping our guard," said Scott Fullman, director of derivatives investment strategy for WJB Capital Group in New York. "You still have to be cautious. There's opportunity, but you have to be extremely selective and defensive."

"You've seen all sorts of numbers that point to the fact that discretionary spending in the economy has come to an absolute halt," said David Reilly, director of portfolio strategy at Rydex Investments.

"The discounting appears to be unbelievable," said Reilly. "The retail sector is going to do whatever it can to get people through the door."

On Friday, the Dow rose 102.43, or 1.17 percent, to 8,829.04.

Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research, noted that the day after Thanksgiving is historically a winning day for the market, and that the recent bounce resembles those seen in October when the market stormed higher on relatively light volume only to retreat in the face of gloomy economic readings. Market advances on light volume can indicate that there are simply fewer sellers rather than a strong number of buyers snapping up stocks with conviction