Shares advance at end of down week, oil prices retreat

Street and European stocks edged ahead on Friday but remained en route to a losing week as U.S. Treasury debt yields declined on government data indicating U.S. economic growth was slowing, Reuters reported.
Trading in many markets was choppy, with oil dropping back after Thursday's spike and investors awaiting a speech on monetary policy later on Friday by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
In currency markets, the dollar was mixed as the euro slipped against the dollar to below $1.09, according to Thomson Reuters.
Wall Street's key indices were ahead after the U.S. Commerce Department reported U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter and after-tax corporate profits had their biggest drop since early 2011. The economy grew at a 5 percent rate in the third quarter.
The Dow Jones industrial average was last up 31.03 points, or 0.18 percent, to 17,709.26, the S&P 500 was ahead 4.82 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,060.97 and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.05 points, or 0.41 percent, to 4,883.41.
European shares were heading for their biggest weekly fall of the year but were ahead for the day.
The pan European FTSEurofirst 300 of top companies was last up 0.40 percent. For the week the FTSEurofirst 300 was down 1.7 percent, its worst run since mid-December but only a dent in its 18 percent gains for the past three months.
Asian shares dropped overnight.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, fell 0.085 points or 0.09 percent, to 97.351. The yen was last down 0.08 percent, at $119.0900, and the euro at $1.0875, off 0.08 percent.