US Stocks Close Lower, Finish Week With Meager Gains

U.S. stocks closed lower after swinging up and down Friday and for the week, but most stocks are sitting right where they started in May.

One big mover: General Motors fell 49 cents, or 26%, to 1.43 Friday as the string played out on the auto maker's attempts to avert bankruptcy with bondholders reportedly rejecting an offer and a union official saying Chapter 11 looked increasingly likely.

"Is a bankruptcy a certainty for GM? Seems that the option buys say YES," said Jon Najarian, founder of Option Monster, citing the demand for $1 bearish put options, in a note to clients.

Sears Holding (Nasdaq) rose 5.21, or 10%, to 55.40 after the operator of its namesake and Kmart stores unexpectedly swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14.81 points, or 0.18%, to 8277.32, but eked out a 0.1% gain on the week for its ninth advance in 11 weeks. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 1.33, or 0.15%, to 887, and rose 0.5% on the week. The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite fell 3.24, or 0.19%, to 1692.01 and advanced 0.7% on the week for its tenth gain in 11 weeks