WALL STREET Stocks overall get a boost, but meat-related stocks dip

Some retail stocks rose after reports of Christmas sales.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks finished higher on Wall Street as investors picked up bargains in an abbreviated post-Christmas session. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & amp; Poor's 500 index advanced for a fifth straight week.
Despite the overall market gains Friday, many stocks of companies that process or sell meat fell further on news of the nation's first case of mad cow disease.
At the close of regular trading, the Dow was up 19.48, or 0.2 percent, at 10,324.67. It was up 0.5 percent for the week. Broader stock indicators also rose Friday. The Standard & amp; Poor's 500 index advanced 1.85, or 0.2 percent, to 1,095.89 for a gain of 0.7 percent for the week. The Nasdaq composite index was up 3.91, or 0.2 percent, at 1,973.14 and was up 1.1 percent for the week.
'Santa Claus rally'
Barry Berman, head trader for Robert W. Baird & amp; Co. in Milwaukee, said the advance appeared to be the continuation of a "Santa Claus rally" that boosted stocks in recent days.
"Wednesday's news about mad cow [disease] had kind of taken the wind out of the sails," he said, noting that most of the selling Wednesday was in companies that process or sell beef and beef products. "The market today is bouncing back from that, though volume is really light, so you don't want to read a lot into it."
Investors responded to reports from retailers that Christmas sales were up modestly.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. rose 8 cents to $52.52 after the world's largest retailer said last-minute holiday sales were good, although not good enough to lift same-store sales growth above the low end of its projected 3 percent to 5 percent range. Same-store sales reflect business at stores open at least a year and are considered the best yardstick of a retailer's strength.
Sharper Image Corp. rose $2.42 to $32.39 after the San Francisco-based specialty retailer raised its fourth-quarter earnings estimates. Amazon.com Inc., the online seller, reported its best holiday season ever, and its shares advanced 15 cents to $53.47.
Confirmation that a Holstein cow in Washington state had the deadly mad cow disease continued to depress the stocks of companies in the meat industry, which suffered widespread losses Wednesday. But restaurant shares staged a bit of a recovery.