(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)

US stocks finished mostly higher on Friday after a rally in energy stocks helped offset the weakness in technology sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32.50 points or 0.49% to finish at 6,626.94. The S&P 500 increased 0.83 points or 0.12% to 683.38. The Nasdaq Composite subtracted 5.74 points or 0.44% to end at 1,293.85.

For the week, Dow was down 435.59 points or 6.17%. S&P fell 51.71 points or 7.03%, while Nasdaq Composite settled with a weekly loss of 83.99 points or 6.49%.

A Labor Department release on Friday showed the economy shed 651,000 jobs in February, worse than the 650,000 job losses expected by economists. The unemployment rate shot up to 25 year high of 8.1% in February from 7.6% in January. Economists had projected a reading of 7.5%.

General Electric (NYSE: GE) climbed 40 cents or 6.01% to $7.06 after analysts at Merrill Lynch and BernsteinResearch said that the diversified firm may not have to raise additional capital.

Among financials, Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) jumped 49 cents or 6.03% to $8.61 after it cut its quarterly dividend by 85% to 5 cents a share from 34 cents a share in an effort to save $5 billion annually.

JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) plunged 67 cents or 4.04% to $15.93.

Shares of General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) sank 41 cents or 22.04% to $1.45 on persistent worries about its survival.

Energy stocks rallied after crude oil rose to a five week high. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) rose $1.81 or 2.91% to $64.03. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) surged $1.81 or 3.21% to $58.27.

Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) rose 64 cents or 9.89% to $7.11. In a joint statement on Friday, Dow Chemical Co. and Rohm and Haas (NYSE: ROH) said that they were in discussions about their disputed $15 billion merger. Shares of Rohm and Haas gained $9.79 or 18.13% to $63.80.

Among technology stocks, shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) fell $3.54 or 3.98% to close at $85.30 after JP Morgan Securities cut its second quarter and fiscal 2009 earnings and revenue estimate citing a deepening economic downturn.

Genentech Inc. (NYSE: DNA) advanced $9.22 or 11.29% to $90.86 after Roche Holding has raised its bid for South San Francisco based company to $93 a share from its earlier offer of $86.50 per share.

Early on Friday, H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) reported that its fiscal third-quarter net income totaled $47.4 million, or 14 cents a share compared to a loss of $47.4 million, or 14 cents a share, in the prior year quarter. Revenue jumped 11% to $993.5 million, surpassing analysts' expectations of $975.3 million. Shares of the company rallied $1.36 or 7.85% to $18.68.

Shares of Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (NYSE: ANN) plunged $2.13 or 38.45% to $3.41 after the retailer posted a wider fourth-quarter loss of $375.6 million, or $6.66 a share, compared to a loss of  $6.67 million, or 11 cents, in the year ago quarter. Revenue slipped to $483.4 million from $600.8 million.

Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) soared 54 cents or 7.18% to $8.06 after the technology firm posted a fourth-quarter loss of $65 million or 11 cents a share, compared to profit of $1.3 million or break-even a share in the comparable period of last year. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 5 cents a share in the latest quarter. Revenue slumped to $512.9 million from $844.7 million.

European stocks settled mixed. The U.K. FTSE rose 0.87 points or 0.02% to close at 3,530.73. The German DAX and French CAC dropped 0.79% and 1.37% respectively.

Asian stocks finished lower. The Nikkei 225 fell 260.39 points or 3.50% to 7,173.10. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong dropped 289.72 points or 2.37% to 11,921.52.

NYMEX crude oil for April delivery climbed $1.91 or 4.4% to settle at $45.52 a barrel.
 
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.