S&P 500 ekes out gain as other big indexes slip

The Standard & Poor’s 500 kept its winning streak alive, just.

The index ended the week nearly two points higher, enough to give it a seventh straight week of gains. That’s the longest stretch of advances in more than two years.

The S&P 500 lost 1.59 points to end at 1,519.79 on Friday. For the week it held on to a gain of 1.86 points.

Investors piled into stocks at the beginning of the year after lawmakers reached a last-minute deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff ” of tax hikes and spending cuts. The gains continued as investors were encouraged by signs that the housing and job markets are recovering. Company earnings also have held up well.

There are signs, however, that the rally is running out of steam.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 8.37 points to close at 13,981.76 on Friday, but it ended the week down 11 points. The index has now edged lower for two straight weeks.

“We’ve just had such a fast start to the year,” said John Fox, manager of the FAM value fund. “It just makes sense that you are going to have a leveling or a slowdown.”

Wal-Mart Stores was the biggest decliner in the Dow on Friday. The stock fell $1.52, or 2.1%, to $69.30 after Bloomberg News published excerpts from an internal email that said sales in February were a “total disaster.”

Energy companies also contributed to the slump, following the price of crude oil lower. Chevron dropped 75 cents, or 0.6%, to $114.96.

The Nasdaq index fell 6.63 points to 3,192.03 and was also down for the week, dropping 1.84 points.

Herbalife rose 47 cents, or 1.2%, to $38.74. It climbed as high as $44.93 after billionaire investor Carl Icahn disclosed he had accumulated a 13% stake in the company.