(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks trimmed their early losses to finish with gains as investors shopped for bargains amid signs that government would do whatever is necessary to prevent banking crisis from intensifying further.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 68.73 points or 0.84% to 8,281.22. The S&P 500 added 6.38 points or 0.76% to end at 850.12. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 17.49 points or 1.16% to 1,529.33.

For the week, Dow was down 317.96 points or 3.7%. S&P fell 40.23 points or 4.5%, while Nasdaq Composite settled with a weekly loss of 42.26 points or 2.7%.

Banking sector remained in spotlight throughout the session on Friday.

Embattled US bank Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) posted a fourth quarter loss of $8.29 billion $1.72 a share compared to a loss of $9.8 billion, or $1.99 in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The results for the quarter include a $3.9 billion gain from the sale of a German consumer bank and other results from discontinued operations. Excluding gains the bank’s loss was $2.44 a share, worse than the consensus analyst estimates of $1.12 a share. The bank said in a statement that that it would break up, for management purposes, into two separate units — Citicorp and Citi Holdings. Citi shares fell 33 cents or 8.62% to $3.50.

Rival Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) swung to a fourth-quarter loss of $1.79 billion, or 48 cents a share compared to a profit of $215 million, or 5 cents a share in the same quarter a year ago. Meanwhile, the U.S. government agreed to infuse $20 billion into Bank of America and to guarantee another $118 billion of losses. The firm was having a hard time absorbing losses at Merrill Lynch, acquired by it in early January. Merrill Lynch lost $15.31 billion, or $9.62 a share, for the fourth quarter, Bank of America said in a statement. Shares of the company plunged $1.14 or 13.70% to $7.18.

Diversified firm General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) confirmed on Friday that it has begun cutting jobs at GE Capital as part of its restructuring program. According to reports, GE Capital may eliminate 7,500 to 11,000 jobs. “As we’ve said, GE Capital is transitioning to a smaller, more focused company that is well-positioned for the long term,” We’ll be reducing costs by $2 billion in 2009 as we discussed in November. Job cuts are a part of that,” said Marissa Moretti, a spokeswoman for GE Capital. GE shares finished up 19 cents or 1.38% at $13.96.

Shares of plane maker Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) jumped $1.50 or 3.66% to $42.46.

Among energy stocks, both Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) surged over 1%.

McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) gained $1.69 or 2.91% to $59.67.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) jumped 45 cents or 3.39% to $13.74.