New York ? Wall Street wrapped up its biggest five-day rally in more than 75 years Friday, even as investors digested signs of a bleak holiday season for retailers and fears that a flurry of reports next week will show more economic distress.

On the short trading day, investors snapped up the battered shares of blue-chip stalwarts Citigroup Inc. and General Motors Corp., sustaining a rally that has surprised many market experts whipsawed by wild swings during the past three months.

The Dow Jones industries rose 102.43, or 1.17 percent, Friday to 8,829.04.

The broader S&P 500 index advanced 8.56, or 0.96 percent, to 896.24, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 3.47, or 0.23 percent, to 1,535.57.

Since the rally began Nov. 21, the Dow has gained 16.9 percent, the S&P 500 19.1 percent and the Nasdaq 16.7 percent.

It’s the first time the Dow and the S&P have risen for five consecutive sessions since July 2007, and the biggest five-day percentage gain over five sessions since Aug. 8, 1932, for the Dow and March 16, 1933, for the S&P.

The month of November wiped out $1 trillion of shareholder wealth, but the last five days gained $1.2 trillion, according to the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index, which reflects the value of nearly all U.S. stocks.

The market got big boosts over the past week from President-elect Barack Obama naming his economic team, the government propping up Citigroup, and the Federal Reserve deciding to buy massive amounts of mortgage-backed securities. These efforts reassured the market that broad efforts are still being made to fight the financial crisis that intensified in September with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Just last week, the S&P 500 fell to its lowest point since 1997 while Citigroup and GM were trading at 15-year and 70-year lows, respectively — touching off worries about how far the market would slide.

While the strong rebound was certainly welcome, analysts were reluctant to get too optimistic. Not only was trading volume very light on Friday, but investors will be digesting a slew of economic data next week ranging from a reading on the manufacturing sector to the all-important employment report from the Labor Department. Both are expected to be dismal.

“We’re seeing some confidence come back into this stock market, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a reason to be dropping our guard,” said Scott Fullman, director of derivatives investment strategy for WJB Capital Group in New York. “You still have to be cautious. There’s opportunity, but you have to be extremely selective and defensive.”

Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research, noted that the day after Thanksgiving is historically a winning day for the market, and that the recent bounce resembles those seen in October when the market stormed higher on relatively light volume only to retreat in the face of gloomy economic readings. Market advances on light volume can indicate that there are simply fewer sellers rather than a strong number of buyers snapping up stocks with conviction.

“We’re looking at this like not much more than a light-volume, bear market bounce,” Detrick said. “They go away just as quickly as they happen, unfortunately.”

In addition to next week’s economic data, investors will be waiting to see whether Detroit’s major automakers can secure federal loans after sending restructuring plans to Capitol Hill by Tuesday. General Motors Corp. rose 43 cents, or 8.9 percent, to $5.24 Friday, while Ford Motor Co. rose 54 cents, or 25 percent, to $2.69. Chrysler LLC isn’t publicly traded.