(RTTNews) - After seeing considerable volatility in early trading, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Friday. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before ending the session modestly higher.

The choppy trading came as traders digested a report from the Labor Department showing that a continued drop in employment drove the unemployment rate up to a new twenty-six year high in October. At the same time, the trend in job losses continued to show a slowdown.

Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, significant strength emerged among airline stocks, which benefited from a steep drop by the price oil. With crude for October delivery falling $2.19 to $77.43 a barrel, the NYSE Arca Airline Index jumped 4.4 percent.

Gold stocks also posted strong gains amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, while strength was also visible among retail, railroad, and health insurance stocks. On the other hand, real estate, electronic storage, and healthcare provider stocks posted notable losses.

The major averages moved to the upside going into the close, ending the day modestly above the unchanged line. The Dow closed up 17.46 at 10,023.42, the Nasdaq closed up 7.12 at 2,112.44 and the S&P 500 closed up 2.67 at 1,069.30.

With the modest gains, the major averages closed higher for the week, partly offsetting the losses posted in the two previous sessions. The Dow and the S&P 500 both rose 3.2 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq a posted weekly gain of 3.3 percent.

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