NEW YORK, Nov 17: US stocks, which made solid gains this week, are expected to tread water during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday period before facing uncertain times ahead, analysts said.

Boosted by good news on the Afghan war front, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.70 per cent over the week to close Friday at 9,866.99 points, while the Nasdaq composite gained 3.83 per cent to 1,898.58 points. The broader Standard and Poor’s 500 was down 1.63 per cent at 1,138.65 points.

All three are above their levels of September 10, the eve of the terrorist onslaught on the United States that cost some 5,000 lives and triggered the US-led offensive against the Taliban and terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden.

The prospects for the markets beyond the week of the Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on Thursday, are uncertain, however.

It’s been a busy week. We’ve had positive news from Afghanistan and good economic numbers over the past few days, said Jefferies Co market strategist Art Hogan.

Market players will continue to monitor the military conflict in Afghanistan as well as the conflict between Opec and non-Opec countries over curbs in oil production, dealers said.

Consumer confidence is still weak, according to AG Edwards economist Gary Thayer, while brokerage Salomon Smith Barney expressed reservations about growth prospects for stocks, saying the markets could be affected by gloomy prospects for the overall economy as job losses continue and economic growth shrinks.

Gross Domestic Product contracted by an annual rate of 0.4 per cent in the third quarter.

The Dow has grown 30 per cent since the end of September when it struck its lowest point following the September 11, attacks, according to Wachovia Securities.

This week the market has been encouraged by the apparent collapse of the Taliban militia in Afghanistan and the release of upbeat economic indicators, notably the 7.1 per cent jump in retail sales in October.

However, more discouraging were the figures for industrial output released Friday, which showed a drop of 1.1 per cent in October.

The bond market was under pressure during the week as investors heartened by good news preferred stocks.

Yield, which moves inversely to price, went from 4.874 per cent to 5.271 per cent for 30-year bonds during the week and from 4.304 per cent to 4.845 per cent for the 10-year bonds.

Airline stocks closed higher on expectations that crude oil prices will help reduce costs in the ailing industry.

AMR shares gained 1.31 dollars to 20.06, Delta increased 0.72 to 27.97, US Airways rose 1.27 to 6.97, and UAL closed 1.53 higher at 14.24.

In the oil sector, Chevron Texaco fell 0.35 dollars to 83.45, while ExxonMobil rose 0.35 to 37.54.

In the technology sector, Dell shed $1.09 to 26.60, and Hewlett-Packard declined 0.59 to 21.50.

Xerox fell $0.51 to 6.58, following a media report that the company has moved to a new position its financial controller, who oversaw Xerox’s accounts during a period currently under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The copier giant’s shares were also hit by this morning’s announcement that it plans to sell $500 million of convertible preferred securities.

In the media sector, AOL Time Warner declined 0.65 dollars to 36.90, as it releases its much-anticipated ‘Harry Potter’ movie in the United States.—AFP