FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2011 file photo, specialist Jennifer Klesaris and trader Gregory Rowe work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stocks advanced Friday, Dec. 23, 2011, on further signs the U.S. economy is improving, but trading activity was muted as the traditional holiday slowdown began in earnest. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2011 file photo, specialist Jennifer Klesaris and trader Gregory Rowe work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stocks advanced Friday, Dec. 23, 2011, on further signs the U.S. economy is improving, but trading activity was muted as the traditional holiday slowdown began in earnest. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Stocks edged higher Friday morning after mixed economic reports failed to derail hopes that the economic recovery is strengthening.
Consumer spending and incomes rose a lackluster 0.1 percent in November, the government said. The weak gains suggest that consumers may have trouble sustaining their spending into 2012.
In another worrying sign, a measure of business investment decreased for the second straight month. Business investment has been a pocket of strong demand and spending amid a sluggish recovery. Companies bought more long-lasting manufactured goods, but the result was skewed by strength in the volatile aerospace industry.
Markets have risen this week after a string of reports lifted hopes for economic growth in the fourth quarter ending next week. New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since April 2008, long before anyone realized the nation was in a recession.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 45 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,214 in the first hour of trading. Walt Disney Co. rose 1.3 percent, the most of the 30 stocks in the Dow. The Dow has risen for the past three days.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4, or 0.3 percent, to 1,257. The S&P is now at roughly breakeven for the year.
The Nasdaq composite index gained 2, or 0.1 percent, to 2,601.
Trading volume was light in the final session before the Christmas holiday. The market will be closed on Monday because Christmas falls on a Sunday this year.
Traders were relieved by news that Congress extended of a payroll tax holiday for workers and emergency unemployment benefits. The programs were set to expire at the end of the year. Letting that happen would have reduced economic growth by about 1 percent, analysts said.
Among the companies making big moves:
? Rambus Inc. jumped 17 percent after the technology licensing company said it reached a patent license deal with Broadcom Corp. and settled a lawsuit with the chip maker.
? TripAdvisor Inc. surged 5.2 percent, the most in the S&P 500, as traders reassessed the value of the newly-spun off travel review website. The stock had fallen sharply since it officially started trading on Wednesday. It recovered some losses on Friday as analysts weighed its rapidly growing revenue and market share.
? Eastman Kodak Co. rose 8 percent to 68 cents after the struggling photography company said its general counsel, Laura Quatela, would become co-president Jan. 1.
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Follow Daniel Wagner at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports .
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