YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM] : Despite choppy, listless trading, stocks managed to finish at their session high with a gain of nearly 1%. The session's advance helped contribute to a 12% gain for the week. Stocks still shed 7.5% for November, however.

Volume was light Friday, thanks partly to shortened session. Less than 1 billion shares traded hands on the New York Stock Exchange.

The session's choppy action had stocks trading in mixed for much of the session. A late rally helped eight of the 10 economic sectors finish in positive ground.

Financial stocks (+2.9%) outperformed on a relative basis. Bank of America (BAC 16.25, +0.82) made gains despite having its target price cut by analysts at UBS. Meanwhile, the British government took a majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS 17.58, +0.85) after investors snubbed a state-backed capital raising plan for the bank.

Citigroup (C 8.29, +1.24) made impressive gains of its own. According to a report, analysts at Barclays believe Citi will continue to see normalized earnings of more than $20 billion, and also believe the recent government injection will curtail risk. The bank's card unit may carry risk going forward as cardmembers contend with rising unemployment and uncertain economic conditions.

Such headwinds have many retailers expecting a slow holiday shopping season. The holiday shopping season officially kicked off today, Black Friday, as consumers flock to stores in search of bargains. Retailers ended the session 1.6% lower.

Global handset maker Nokia (NOK 14.17, -0.45) said it will no longer sell mobile phones in Japan, except for certain high-end models. According to Nokia's latest quarterly filing, device volume in the Asia-Pacific region contracted quarter-over-quarter, despite continued growth in greater China. Nokia recently stated that it expected global volume to slow amid weaker consumer spending.

Auto makers have also been contending with a challenging environment, but their performance this session was impressive. Auto makers surged 19.0% as a group. Their advance followed reports that General Motors (GM 5.24, +0.43) is studying whether to divest such brands as Saturn, Pontiac, and Saab in order to save money and reduce overlap. Recent strength in the industry is also owed to what is expected to be a forthcoming bailout plan for auto makers.

Industrial stocks (+2.7%) also made strong gains during the session, led by General Electric (GE 17.17, +0.98). GE gained despite word that Korea-based LG Electronics will not acquire GE's the home appliance unit, ending months of speculation.

Energy (-1.5%) was the worst performing economic sector. It dropped as a result of sliding oil prices. Oil was most recently down 4.0% to $50.25 per barrel, or down almost 65% from its record high. The drop in oil prices has many expecting OPEC to order a cut in production during its meeting this weekend.

With stocks continuing to trade in a volatile manner, investors have been seeking out the relative safety of Treasuries, which has pushed the yield of the 10-year Note to historical lows near 2.95%. DJ30 +102.43 NASDAQ +3.47 NQ100 -0.6% R2K +0.9% SP400 +1.0% SP500 +8.56 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1703/764 mln/892 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2071/787 mln/966