Wall Street Logs Weekly Loss on Iraq Concerns

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The major market averages ended the week in the red as turmoil in Iraq flared up. Still, a rally in Intel shares lifted sentiment on Friday.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 41.6 points, or 0.25%, to 16776, the S&P 500 rose 6.1 points, or 0.31%, to 1936 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 13 points, or 0.3%, to 4311.

For the week, the Dow fell 0.88%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.68% and the Nasdaq ticked lower by 0.25%.

Wall Street's smooth ride higher hit turbulence this week as the situation in Iraq rapidly destabilized. Numerous major cities have been seized by rebels that are an offshoot of terrorist group Al Qaeda. The tumult sent U.S. crude oil futures shooting higher -- toping the $107 a barrel mark for the first time since September. The benchmark contract recently traded higher by 43 cents, or 0.4%, to $106.95 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline advanced 0.12% to $3.088 a gallon.

"The events of this week in Iraq will have some profound reshaping of geopolitical maps not only in the Middle-East but also in Europe," Olivier Jakob, managing director at Swiss-based energy consultancy Petromatrix, wrote in an e-mail to clients, adding, "crude oil has gone through a period of very low volatility but it came back with a revenge."

It's worth noting that the U.S. Energy Department ranks Iraq the world's eight-biggest producer of oil. Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are the two biggest.

Still, Wall Street managed to shake off those worries. A rally in shares of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), sparked by a rosier sales outlook, helped lift sentiment.

On the economic front, a reading on consumer sentiment from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan came in at 81.2 in June, below consensus estimates of 83, and lower than a final reading in May of 81.9.

The Labor Department reports inflation at the wholesale level fell 0.2% in May, compared to expectations prices would rise 0.1%. Excluding the food and energy components, prices fell 0.1%, compared to an expected gain of 0.1%.

In corporate news, Priceline Group (NASDAQ:PCLN) said it would by OpenTable (NASDAQ:OPEN) for $2.6 billion in cash.