Stocks rose for a fifth day during a holiday-shortened, thinly traded session on Friday as investors picked up recently beaten-down shares of large technology companies.

Market participants were also encouraged by signs of progress in talks about releasing aid to debt-saddled Greece and piled into U.S. retail shares as Black Friday got the holiday shopping season under way.

U.S. stock market trading ended early and was closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Microsoft helped lift the Nasdaq, gaining 2.8 percent to $27.70, while Apple Inc rose 1.7 percent to $571.50.

The S&P 500 broke a two-week losing streak to rise 3.6 percent. Stocks had tumbled earlier in the month on worries about the impact of tax and spending changes set to take effect from January, but hopes that politicians will reach a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff helped the market recoup some of those declines this week.

The Dow and S&P 500 both closed above key technical levels for the first time since Nov 6, which could provide additional support. The Dow ended above 13,000, while the S&P broke above 1,400. (commentary & photo courtesy of Reuters)

******************************************************************

This week RSI picked the silver ETF which is  … iShares Silver Trust (SLV). Its chart follows:

SLV has been demonstrating great relative performance over the past month. It trades on very high volume and money continues to flow into this fund. With all the uncertainties in the national and world arena, this may be a rational choice. I like this ETF and I plan to purchase a position for the RSI portfolio this coming week.

I hope you had a great weekend and I’ll catch you next weekend.