YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: With help from some positive data, the stock market was able to log a modest gain in the face of a firmer dollar for the second straight session, but stocks still finished flat for the week. Such sideways movement is consistent with the stock market's trend for the past month, though.

Action was choppy this session, but stocks held firmly higher. The only move lower by the S&P 500 was met with support at the neutral line.

Broad-based support for stocks stemmed largely from a dose of better-than-expected data. According to the latest Advance Retail Sales Report, sales in November increased 1.3%, which is much better than the 0.6% increase that had been expected. Excluding autos, retail sales increased 1.2% in November. That exceeded the consensus call for a 0.4% increase.

Though there isn't an empirical connection between consumer sentiment and actual spending, participants reacted positively to news that the preliminary consumer sentiment survey for December from the University of Michigan came in at 73.4, which topped the 68.8 consensus.

Retailers rode to a 1.3% gain as a result of the reports. The move marked the second straight session that they outperformed the broader market.

Other economic data proved less consequential as import prices for November reportedly increased 1.7% month-over-month, which was stronger than the 1.2% monthly increase that had been forecast, and business inventories for October increased 0.2%, which is better than the 0.2% decrease that had been expected.

Though gains were generally broad, the tech sector struggled. Weakness among large-cap took the tech sector to a 0.3% loss and caused the Nasdaq to lag its counterparts and finish with a fractional loss.

Still, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by more than 2-to-1 in the broader market for the second straight session. What's more, the modest gains that accompanied those buying efforts came even though the greenback gained ground against a basket of major foreign currencies. The Dollar Index logged a gain of 0.1% in the previous session, but booked a 0.7% gain this session; it finished the week with a 0.8% gain.

An advancing dollar has made for a particularly stiff headwind for the stock market in recent months, but stocks were still able to settle flat for the week. The sideways movement is consistent with the market's moves, or lack-there-of, in the past month, however. During that time stocks made their way to fractional new 2009 highs only to roll over. Buyers have been right there to keep the market's dips short and shallow, though.

Advancing Sectors: Utilities (+1.7%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.0%), Industrials (+1.0%), Financials (+0.7%), Telecom (+0.6%), Consumer Staples (+0.4%), Materials (+0.1%), Energy (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Tech (-0.3%), Health Care (-0.1%)DJ30 +65.67 NASDAQ -0.55 NQ100 -0.4% R2K +0.8% SP400 +0.8% SP500 +4.06 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1573/1.77 bln/1091 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2010/1.02 bln/1022