国际英语新闻：U.S. stocks close second straight week of gains after Mubarak resigns

NEW YORK, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended in their second straight week of gains on Friday after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation.

The market opened lower on Friday morning as Mubarak refused to quit on Thursday, but bounced back after Mubarak handed over power to the military and left Cairo. However, investors were still waiting to see if the unrest in Egypt over the past 18 days might still spread to other parts of the Middle East.

As the Suez Canal is controlled by Egypt, the country's situation matters much to the oil industry as well as energy stocks. Investors had worried that the crisis in Egypt would continue and protests could intensify.

The market was also driven by the financial stocks. This sector was led on the back of the reduced uncertainty, keeping energetic throughout the trading day. Bank of America Corp gained 1.9 percent to 14.77 dollars and the KBW Banks index added 1.8 percent.

Meanwhile, according to the Commerce Department, the U.S. trade deficit widened in December. The trade gap for all of 2010 also rose by the largest amount in a decade. Investors believed the trade deficit will keep widening in 2011 as Americans import more goods as the economy recovers.

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has seen a modest improvement in February, according to the University of Michigan's preliminary report released on Friday, with the consumer sentiment index rising to its highest level in eight months.

The Treasury Department said on Friday that the government should withdraw its support for the mortgage market step by step, over five years or more. The mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will ultimately be shut down.

As for the earning reports, Discovery Communications Inc., which owns Animal Planet, TLC and half of the Oprah Winfrey Network, reported on Friday that its fourth-quarter net income jumped 34 percent thanks to strong advertising and distribution revenue and cost controls.

Kraft Foods reported a 24 percent dip in fourth-quarter profits late Thursday. The world's second-largest food company said its net income totaled 540 million dollars, or 31 cents per share, compared to 710 million dollars, or 48 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 43.97 points, or 0.36 percent, to 12,273.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 7.30 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,329.17. The Nasdaq Composite added 18.99 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,809.44.