Markets End the Day Higher

After a sluggish day, a late push higher delivers tiny gains and renews records for major US market indexes, the AP reports. The Standard & Poor's 500 index marked its fourth straight weekly gain Friday. The tone in the market was tepid all day. More stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange, and a measure of small-company stocks ended essentially unchanged. After being down for most of the day, Verizon and AT&T turned higher in mid-afternoon trading. Verizon ended with a gain of 1.5%. The S&P 500 edged up 3 points, or 0.2%, to 2,351. The Dow Jones industrial average inched up 4 points to 20,624. The Nasdaq composite rose 23 points, or 0.4%, to 5,838. (Read more stock market stories.)