Stock prices pared earlier gains to end a choppy day relatively flat, as Wall Street remained uncertain that a $ 17.4 billion lifeline for US automakers will make a lasting difference for the beleaguered industry.

On Friday, GM shares jumped 83 cents, or 22.7 per cent, to $ 4.49, while Ford shares added 11 cents or 3.9 per cent to $ 2.95. Chrysler is not publicly traded.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 25.88, or 0.30 per cent, to 8,579.11.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.60, or 0.29 per cent, to 887.88, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 11.95, or 0.77 per cent, to 1,564.32.

For the week, the Dow ended down 0.59 per cent, while the S&P 500 finished up 0.93 per cent and the Nasdaq up 1.53 per cent. All of the indexes are still down more than 35 per cent for the year.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 7.09, or 1.48 per cent, to 486.26.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 2.14 billion shares.

Citigroup shares sank 41 cents, or 5.5 per cent, to $ 7.02. Wells Fargo slipped 29 cents to $ 29.36.

Yields on long-term Treasurys recovered from record lows yesterday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.12 per cent late yesterday from 2.07 per cent late Thursday.

The yield on the popular three-month T-bill - whose yield has at times gone negative due to frenzied buying - rose slightly to 0.01 per cent from zero late Thursday.