Wall Street report: Friday close

BLUE-CHIPS ended a down week barely changed on signs that the strong economic rebound sighted in March might prove to be a mirage. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.74 points to 10,190.82. The Nasdaq Index came back 30.95 points or 1.8% to 1756.19.

The indices both lost 0.8% on the week, with the Dow off four consecutive weeks and the Nasdaq extending its losing streak to five.

New figures on retail sales and consumer confidence traced a retreat from the end of winter ebullience exhibited in March. The University of Michigan's widely-watched consumer sentiment index came in at 94.4, from 95.7 in March and sharply below expectations. Washington said retail sales inched up just 0.2%, a third of the gain expected.

Economists blamed Middle East violence, rising oil prices and the crisis of confidence in accounting on Wall Street for the weak data.

But even while investors were digesting those figures, two of the components seemed to change course, albeit slightly. West Texas crude oil dropped 2.7% at the opening of trading after the Venezuelan military ousted the country's pro-Opec leader, and the Securities and Exchange Commission quashed speculation that IBM was the target of a book-keeping investigation.

IBM shares, which dropped 5.4% on Thursday, regained $1.41 or 1.7% to $85.60 after the usually tight-lipped SEC said it had opened and promptly closed a February inquiry into IBM's accounting.

General Electric, hammered for a 9.3% loss on Thursday after it disappointed investors with its quarterly report, slipped another 20 cents or 0.6% to $33.55.

Broker Merrill Lynch, which was also taken down in the previous session on an investigation into the way some of its analysts conducted themselves during the internet boom, closed flat at $46.89.

Oil shares surrendered some of their recent gains on speculation that Venezuela would start pumping beyond its Opec allocation. ExxonMobil slumped $1.10 or 2.6% to $41.30.

Airlines were beneficiaries of the oil price drop. UAL, parent of United Airlines, rose 58 cents or 3.8% to $15.76. AMR, holding company for American Airlines, added 79 cents or 3.3% to $25.

Financials were higher on expectations that the softer data would delay any increase in official interest rates. American Express rose 26 cents or 0.7% to $40.43. JP Morgan gained 82 cents or 2.5% to $34.28.