The GDP rise of just 3 percent in the second quarter — Wall Street had been expecting 3.8 percent — led to very light volume and a narrow trading range, as many investors kept to the sidelines.

Only an afternoon surge of buying — the second this week — pushed stocks higher. Analysts noted that late-day buying is common at the end of the month as mutual funds and large investors adjust portfolios and purchase options.

Climbing oil prices also gave investors more to worry about. A barrel of light sweet crude closed at a record $43.80, up $1.05, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and prices showed no signs of retreat.

"Oil prices may go up even further before they go down," said Keith Keenan, vice president of institutional trading at Wall Street Access.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 10.47, or 0.1 percent, at 10,139.71. The Dow was up for the fourth straight session, the first time that's happened since early April.

Broader stock indicators were narrowly higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 1.29, or 0.1 percent, at 1,101.72, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 6.30, or 0.3 percent, to 1,887.36.

All three major indexes ended the week higher. The Dow gained 1.8 percent after five weeks of losses, the S&P 500 rose 1.4 percent after six losing weeks and the Nasdaq was up 2.1 percent after four down weeks.

However, despite the week's gains, the market ended July sharply lower. For the month, the Dow fell 2.8 percent, the S&P 500 was down 3.4 percent and the Nasdaq suffered a 7.8 percent loss. Concerns over third- and fourth-quarter earnings, oil prices and economic health outweighed an otherwise strong second-quarter earnings season, and July's losses could spill into August as economic issues take over the debate.

While the GDP data is an important indicator for the overall health of the economy, investors already knew that the economy had hit a "soft spot," as Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan put it, in June. The next round of economic figures for July, starting with job creation figures next Friday, will carry even greater weight as Wall Street tries to discern whether the soft spot will continue.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by more than 5 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.3 billion shares, compared with 1.52 billion yesterday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 1.44, or 0.3 percent, at 551.27.