Adobe, Tame Inflation Boost Stocks

News that consumer inflation was unchanged in November gave investors yet another reason to buy on Friday.

Still, stocks hit their best levels of the day shortly after the open, then spent the rest of the day paring those gains, as traders locked in profits on the quarterly expiration of options and futures.

Adobe was a big gainer, rising 5% after the company's 34% sales growth beat estimates, benefiting from the integration of recently acquired Macromedia. Adobe's forward guidance was in line with analysts' estimates.

It was a strong day for IPOs, with storage company Isilon soaring 78%. DoubleTake registered a 15% gain in its debut.

ChipMOS gained 10% after raising guidance.

But Apple and Dell lost ground after delaying SEC filings because of accounting issues.

Tektronix shed 9% after missing estimates.

The Nasdaq added 3 to 2457, the S&P 500 tacked on 1 to 1427, and the Dow climbed 28 to 12,445. Volume soared to 3.2 billion shares on the NYSE, and 2.39 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led 17-15 on the NYSE, and 16-14 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 46% on the NYSE, and 64% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 311-16 on the NYSE, and 169-42 on the Nasdaq.

Note: The Technical Analysis column will return on Monday.