Stocks Closed Higher for Fourth Week of Gains

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, putting them on track for a fourth week of gains, as a rally in telecoms stocks offset weakness in the industrial sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 53.62 points, or 0.29%, to 18,570.85, adding 0.3% for the week. The S&P 500 rose 9.86 points, or 0.46%, to 2,175.03 for a weekly gain of 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 26.26 points, or 0.52%, to 5,100.16, closing the week 1.4% higher.

Oil futures settled on Friday at their lowest level in about 11 weeks, as prospects for Libyan crude supplies added to this week’s concerns that a glut of oil products will cut demand for crude by refiners. September West Texas Intermediate crude declined by 56 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $44.19 a barrel. September Brent crude lost 51 cents, or 1.1%, to $45.69 a barrel.

Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) is focusing on U.S. telecommunications company Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) as the buyer of its core business after reviewing final bids that it received this week, people familiar with the matter said on Friday

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has just become the third richest person in the world, unseating billionaire investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett for the first time.

The D.C. metropolitan area added an impressive 81,100 jobs in the one-year period ending in June, a 2.4 percent employment growth rate that handily outstripped the nation, according to government data released Friday.