Stocks Edge Up on Exxon, Intel Upgrades

NEW YORK - Stocks edged higher Friday as analyst upgrades lifted energy giant Exxon Mobil and chip maker Intel, while investors weighed Hurricane Katrina's economic costs against signs the consumer remains resilient.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 13 points to 10,572, the Nasdaq composite added 4 to 2,158, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained a point to 1,229.

Exxon Mobil climbed after a major brokerage raised its rating on the oil company, saying crude prices will stay elevated even as Gulf refineries recover. Intel rose after another firm said the chip maker's new laptop processors are winning orders ahead of the holiday season.

The week's economic data gave investors a mixed picture. Consumer prices showed only modest inflation outside energy, industrial production fell on storm shutdowns, and consumer sentiment dipped — but less than many had feared.

"The market has decided Katrina is a regional tragedy, not a national recession," said a strategist at a New York asset manager. "The risk is that confidence is fragile. Two months of $3 gas could change the math."

Airline shares were mixed after Delta and Northwest's bankruptcy filings. Delta traded near 70 cents — investors noted the shares will likely be canceled in any restructuring — while US Airways' merger partner America West rose on Friday's court approval.

Bond prices were little changed, with the 10-year Treasury note yielding about 4.25 percent. Traders expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates another quarter point at Tuesday's meeting, hurricane or no hurricane.

Gold eased to about $457 an ounce, while the dollar was steady against the euro and slightly lower against the yen.