Auto Rescue Fails To Inspire Investor

Wall Street drifted into the dusk on Friday, as investors closed out positions ahead of a holiday-shortened week and mulled the much-anticipated rescue plan for Detroit's auto industry.

The U.S. Treasury will use $17.4 billion of its Troubled Asset Relief Program piggybank on bridge loans for General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) and Chrysler designed to keep the automakers afloat while they restructure. The money will be doled out in two parts, an immediate $13.4 billion outlay followed by another $4.0 billion in February, with the goal of putting the car companies on a path to survival by the end of March. (See "A Band Aid Or A Bailout?")

GM shares jumped 15.3% but the broader market stalled Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 26 points, or 0.3%, to 8,579, losing 0.6% on the week, and is down 35.3% in 2008. The S&P 500 gained 2 points, or 0.3%, to 888, adding 0.9% for the week to shave its year-to-date loss to 39.5%; and the Nasdaq climbed 12 points, or 0.8%, to 1,564 Friday, to lock in a 1.5% five-day gain and trim its 2008 decline to 41.0%. Ford Motor (nyse: F - news - people ), which requested a credit line from the government but not a bridge loan, gained 1.8% late in the session.

The banking sector was under the gun after Standard & Poor's cut its long-term debt ratings on a dozen firms. Morgan Stanley (nyse: MS - news - people ) and Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) were among the hardest hit of the companies affected by the cut, down 4.1% and 5.9%, respectively, which S&P attributed to continued pressure on complex financial institutions and the likelihood of ongoing volatility in funding markets. The SPDR KBW Bank (nyse: KBE - news - people )exchange-traded fund was off 1.5% near the close.

Traders in the energy pits sent oil prices lower Friday, as crude dropped $2.35, to $33.87 a barrel. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced a 2.2 million barrel production cut on Wednesday, but move has been greeted with skepticism, as market watchers question whether the output decrease can overcome plunging demand caused by the global economic downturn. United States Oil Fund (nyse: USO - news - people ), an exchange-traded vehicle that tracks crude and other products, gained 0.9% though, as prices ticked higher in electronic trading after the January crude contract expired at day's end. (See "Market Judges OPEC Goal A Mere Paper Cut.")