Stocks drop on jobs data, close the week mixed; oil rises on Iran fears

— -- Stocks retreated again Friday after readings on jobs and manufacturing — the first reports for the third quarter — indicated that businesses and workers still face a tough economy. The major indexes ended a turbulent week narrowly mixed.

A massive quarterly loss at General Motors and rising oil prices also gave investors reason to trade cautiously, but the market was considerably calmer than the first four sessions of the week, when the Dow Jones industrials rose or fell by triple digits each day.

The Dow fell 51.70, or 0.45%, to 11,326.32. The Dow ended the week down 0.39%.

Broader stock indicators also lost ground Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 7.07, or 0.56%, to 1,260.31, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 14.59, or 0.63%, to 2,310.96.

Advancing issues, however, narrowly outnumbered decliners Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 1.22 billion shares.

The S&P finished the week up 0.02%, and the Nasdaq finished up 0.21%.

Bond prices edged higher in Friday's trading. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.94% from 3.95% late Thursday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Oil prices settled slightly higher Friday, clawing back above $125 a barrel after Israel raised new concerns about Iran's nuclear program. But more concerns that high prices are eating into demand limited the gains.

Crude prices soared earlier in the day after news reports quoted Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying that Iran's nuclear program was poised to make a "major breakthrough" and that his country must be "prepared for every option."

Mofaz, a hawkish former defense minister and military chief, is a top contender to succeed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who announced Wednesday he will resign in September amid a corruption probe.

Mofaz's comments "got everybody excited to buy oil again" on worries that a possible military strike against Iran would plunge the Middle East into another crisis and threaten regional oil supplies, said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.