By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 briefly pierced a key level on Friday after solid earnings from technology bellwethers Oracle and Research In Motion, but stocks were little changed after a survey showed consumer sentiment worsened in early September.
The S&P 500 managed to briefly overcome key technical resistance around 1,130, pushing through intraday highs from June and August. A decisive move above that level on solid volume would be a bullish sign.
A report that the International Monetary Fund might bail out Ireland weighed on stocks early in the session. That as well as a survey on deteriorating consumer sentiment sparked profit-taking after the 1,130 level was reached.
"It's the top end of the range. It's a good place to take profits, and I think that's what we saw happen in Friday trade," said Nick Kalivas, an analyst at MF Global in Chicago. He added that a Federal Reserve meeting and earnings reports next week helped to keep investors on the sidelines.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 11.43 points, or 0.11 percent, to 10,606.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 <.SPX> rose 1.53 points, or 0.14 percent, to 1,126.19. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 12.06 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,315.31.
Volume spiked at the open, with more than 1.5 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Amex and Nasdaq in the first half hour, more the double the levels in recent days.
"Clearly coming into today on a short-term basis we were in a minor upturn, and the bulls showed they were in command of the marketplace in opinion or buying power," said Jeffrey Friedman, senior market strategist at Landward in Chicago.
If indexes are unable to regain ground before the close of trading, "it's going to question that concept," said Friedman.
Support for the S&P 500's 200-day moving average remains around 1,116, a level it vaulted on Monday.
Oracle Corp
Oracle shot up 6.9 percent at $27.10, while RIM rose nearly 2 percent to $47.38.
Texas Instruments Inc
The close of trading on Friday marks the quarterly expiration of September equity futures and option contracts, a convergence known as "quadruple witching", which may increase volume and trading volatility.
On Thursday, options had its busiest day in a year, led by a surge in call trading. The total put-to-call ratio, often used to gauge market sentiment, fell to its lowest level since December 24, 2009.
(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Additional reporting by Doris Frankel and Leah Schnurr; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
