New York ? Wall Street ended a big week on a quiet but encouraging note Friday, as modest stock gains lifted the Nasdaq composite index to its first five-session winning streak in seven months and biggest weekly gain in more than a year.

The Dow Jones industrials also returned to levels not seen in more than a month, despite choppy trading that caused the major indexes to fluctuate for most of the session. Analysts said the market’s ability to hold steady, rather than fall sharply on profit-taking or fears that the week’s big advance would fizzle, suggests investor confidence is slowly recovering.

“This is a good way to end the week. We’ve hung on to most of the gains and the market’s overall tone is better and the news appears to be improving,” said Rafael Tamargo, director of equity research at Wilmington Trust. “I do think there is a base here for us to build on. But is it a straight shot up? Absolutely not.”

The Dow closed up 63.87, or 0.6 percent,at 10,353.08. The gauge, which enjoyed two triple-digit advances earlier this week, had its highest finish since April 10, when it stood at 10,381.73.

Broader stock indicators also moved higher. The tech-focused Nasdaq composite index gained 10.95, or 0.6 percent, to 1,741.39. Its last five-session gain was in early October.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 8.36, or 0.8 percent, to 1,106.59.

The index’s weekly performances also were solid. The Dow gained 4.2 percent, the Nasdaq rose 8.8 percent and the S&P climbed 4.9 percent. The Nasdaq’s gain was its biggest since the week ended April 20, 2001, when it surged 10.3 percent.

Trading Friday was mostly lackluster. Although the market got an upbeat outlook from Dell Computer and encouraging consumer sentiment numbers, investors appeared to be taking a break a normal occurrence, analysts said, following four days of mostly positive momentum.

Dell rose 9 cents to $27.94 on earnings that beat expectations despite a slight drop in first-quarter profits. The company also raised its forecast for second-quarter profits.