Investors head into the shortened holiday week with a measure of optimism and hope that lawmakers will not let the country fall off the fiscal cliff. Also, industrial production unexpectedly fell in October as superstorm Sandy took out power in the northeast, with output at factories, mines and utilities declining 0.4% last month. Tech stocks generally ended the week with an upbeat performance, but Dell stood out among decliners, giving up 7.3% due to negative sentiment over the co.’s quarterly results and prospects. Gains came from IBM, Oracle, Apple, Facebook and Intel. Activision Blizzard rose 4.7% after the co. said its “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” recorded more than $500 million in world-wide retail sales in the first 24 hours of its release. Upcoming holiday-shortened week brings budget negotiations in Washington and possible Black Friday updates from retailers which could sway the direction of stocks. Also, euro-zone finance ministers meeting over Greece and manufacturing figures for November for China could weigh on the market. Investors will receive U.S. housing-industry updates, quarterly results from Best Buy and Hewlett-Packard and the University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters’s report on consumer sentiment in November, with the figures coming as the holiday-shopping season moves into high gear.
