US stocks clung to slim gains in a choppy session on Friday as a stronger dollar and quarterly options expiration unsettled investors before the weekend. Positive broker comments on Procter & Gamble Co and Chevron Corp helped lift the Dow industrials and shielded the blue chip average from some of the choppiness. The US dollar, which has fallen 2 percent so far this month, was having its best day since September 1.
The dollar's strength hit commodity prices and weighed on stocks in the materials and industrial sectors. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.05 points, or 0.24 percent, to 9,806.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index inched up just 0.40 point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,065.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up just 0.47 of a point, or 0.02 percent, to 2,127.22. The S&P 500 is up 58 percent from a 12-year closing low in March, and some investors are looking for a catalyst that might cause stock prices to pull back.