Wall Street fluctuated on Friday as investors set aside some of their inflation concerns and awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The Fed gave the market a jolt this week by announcing plans to buy Treasury securities to revive lending and the economy. Wall Street initially jumped on the move but fell on Thursday on worries about the dollar and inflation.

In just two days, the dollar fell 5 percent versus the euro and 3 percent versus the yen. Oil prices, meanwhile, soared 7 percent on Thursday above $51 a barrel to the highest level this year.

Investors are eager for more insights into the Fed's plans. Bernanke will be speaking on the financial crisis at the Independent Community Bankers of America convention in Phoenix.

Many analysts believe stocks were due for a pullback after the Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 14 percent over seven trading days. But considering how much the market has rallied, it appears to be holding up well. Since a batch of troubled banks told investors they were profitable in January and February nearly two weeks ago, the stock market bounced off its 12-year lows. Even after Thursday's retreat, the Dow was still up 13 percent from its lows, and the S&P 500 index was up nearly 16 percent.

The question on Wall Street is whether there will be enough good news in the coming days to keep stocks rising.

Michael Binger, portfolio manager at Thrivent Investment Management in Minneapolis, said the government efforts around the world to fan economic growth and boost lending will eventually take hold and that the market is signaling that the economy is hitting bottom. He contends that it shouldn't be too difficult for stocks to keep moving higher because expectations have fallen so low.

"I think the stock market is saying that fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009 may be the trough in negative news," he said.

In late morning trading, the Dow industrials rose 30.26, or 0.4 percent, to 7,431.06.

Broader stock indicators were narrowly mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.28, or less than 0.01 percent, to 783.76, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.13, or 0.4 percent, to 1,488.61.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.31, or 0.3 percent, to 411.95.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 5 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a heavy 852.9 million shares.

Government bond prices slipped. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.61 percent from 2.60 percent late Thursday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.20 percent from 0.18 percent.

The dollar recovered modestly against other major currencies. Gold prices slipped.

Oil prices rose 36 cents to $51.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In corporate news, printer and copier maker Xerox Corp. slashed its first-quarter profit forecast by nearly 80 percent on restructuring costs and a slowdown in technology spending. Xerox fell 76 cents, or 14.2 percent, to $4.58.

Italian automaker Fiat said it will not assume Chrysler's current or future debt as it takes a 35 percent stake in the company. Ford rose 22 cents, or 8.8 percent, to $2.73.

And Citigroup Inc said it was shifting Edward Kelly, the former head of global banking for Citi Private Bank, to the role of chief financial officer, and naming Gary Crittenden, who has been CFO, as chairman of Citi Holdings. Citi Holdings is the portion of Citigroup that holds the bank's riskiest assets. Citi rose 4 cents to $2.64.

Overseas, Japan's stock market was closed for a holiday. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.4 percent.