The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Friday to finish a second consecutive week higher, as fears of contagion from Turkey's currency crisis continued to ebb. The index of the 30 U.S. stock-market stalwarts added to its massive gains from Thursday, when the Dow logged its biggest point move in four months, easing investor concerns that the U.S. market was on the cusp of a more significant pullback. An additional week of solid corporate profit reports from companies like Walmart helped. The Dow industrials climbed 0.4%, while the S&P 500 added 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1%. The additional gains helped the Dow and S&P 500 notch a second consecutive week of gains, of 1.4% and 0.6%, respectively. The Nasdaq, however, is down 0.3% over the past five trading days, as tech stocks came under pressure earlier in the week. While all 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose Friday, consumer-staples stocks were among the best performers. Up 3.2% this week, the sector of food makers and household-product manufacturers has been enjoying a renaissance lately, as investors have sought their relative safety to hedge against market volatility. Consumer staples tend to pay generous dividends and fare better during periods of economic duress since consumers tend to always need those goods and products. The US gold price gained 0.9 to record 1,184.60 US$/oz.
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