Stocks end higher for 3rd straight week

(AP) -- The Dow Jones industrial average rose for a third straight week, capping a two-month period in which the index has ended 7 out of 8 weeks higher than where it started.

Stocks ended on a mixed note Friday at the close of a busy week of earnings news. The Dow finished slightly down, while the broader Standard and Poor's 500 index and the technology-focused Nasdaq both ended with gains.

The market appeared to be in a holding pattern as investors turned their attention to a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Korea. The group is meeting as tensions grow over a brewing currency battle that could affect global trade.

"Everyone is trying to get out of the economic doldrums by exporting," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank. "And everyone is trying to do it at one time."

There are worries that some countries, like China, are holding their currencies at artificially low levels. That gives them an advantage in exporting goods as the global economy slowly recovers from a deep recession. (more)