By Stewart Lewis

(May 12 – 17:30 ET) – Stocks closed higher today after a second report on the U.S. economy encouraged investors. The Dow Jones edged up 63.40, or 0.6%, to 10609.37, ending the week up nearly 32 points.

The Nasdaq added 29.46 to 3529.04. The gain extended Thursday’s nearly 115-point rise, minimizing the week’s loss to 7.5%.

A benign report on April producer prices in the U.S. provided comfort to investors worried recently about rising inflation. It followed retail sales data released Thursday that showed consumers are cutting back on spending.

Those developments may keep the U.S. Federal Reserve from raising bank rates, as has been predicted, by 50 basis points. Instead, a 25 bps increase may come out of next week’s Fed meeting. The Bank of Canada will likely follow suit.

Technology shares continued to rebound on the Nasdaq today. Dell Computer rose 5 3/16 to 49 7/8 after it announced stronger-than-expected earnings late Thursday.

In Toronto, stocks ended modestly higher on Friday as investors cautiously pushed up influential technology issues. The TSE traded a volume of 138 million shares valued at $3.2 billion. Advancing issues topped decliners 590 to 513. Eight of the TSE 300’s 14 sub-indexes finished higher, led by a 2.2% gain in the industrials. The major industrial stock, Nortel Networks Corp. was the most active, rising to $2.60 to $77.35.

The CDNX added 45.6 finishing the week at 34,291.