US stocks : Dow up 0.4 pct

The Dow Jones industrial average added 45.93 points, or 0.37 percent, to 12,588.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 6.55 points, or 0.48 percent, to 1,359.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 16.19 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,853.13.

Shares of Penn National Gaming Inc surged 28.2 percent to $48.23 on its busiest day of trading in more than four years, after the owner of gaming and pari-mutuel properties said late Thursday it will split its business into a gaming-focused real estate investment trust and a gaming operator.

More than 10 million shares changed hands, compared with average daily volume of 629,000 shares over the past 50 days.

Dell Inc helped limit the Nasdaq's gains after lower PC sales hurt the company's profit. Dell slumped 7.3 percent to $8.86.

More violence in the Middle East also kept investors wary after Palestinian militants nearly hit Jerusalem with a rocket for the first time in decades and fired at Tel Aviv for a second day.

Sears Holdings Corp late Thursday reported a quarterly loss that was narrower than expected, but same-store sales fell on weak demand for electronics, sending shares down 18.8 percent to $47.49.

Volume is expected to be light next week with some investors away for the Thanksgiving holiday, and the market closed on Thursday and open for only a half-day on Friday.

The decreased liquidity could spell more intra-day volatility for the market, though fewer market participants could also mute action.

Volume on Friday was roughly 7.52 billion shares on the New York

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