S&P 500 Posts Second Week of Gains

The S&P 500 wrapped up its second positive week in a row on Friday (November 30), although it ended the day flat as politicians remain at odds about how to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.

U.S. President Barack Obama accused a "handful of Republicans" in the House of Representatives on Friday of holding up legislation to extend tax cuts for middle-class Americans in order to try to preserve them for the wealthy.

"There is a stalemate; let's not kid ourselves," House Speaker John Boehner said on Friday, a month before the $600 billion (USD) "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts is set to kick in.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 3.76 points, or 0.03 percent, at 13,025.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.23 points, or 0.02 percent, at 1,416.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.79 points, or 0.06 percent, at 3,010.24.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 1.5 percent.

For the month of November, though, the Dow slipped 0.5 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 1.1 percent.