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Stocks are edging higher in early trading on Wall Street after a report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in December.

Stocks edged higher on Wall Street, pushing the Dow toward 14,000, as investors digested the latest round of earnings and economic reports... Stocks are approaching record levels after a January rally that has pushed the Dow 6.5 percent higher this month and the S&P 500 up 5.7 percent, to its highest level since December 2007. Demand was bolstered after lawmakers reached a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" at the start of the year and by reports that have added to evidence showing the U.S. housing market is recovering and the jobs market is slowly healing.

Stocks edged lower at the open on Monday as shares of Apple were weighed down by demand concerns, while investors faced a busy week for corporate earnings.

Stocks soared 2% Wednesday in the first trading of 2013, after Congress' last-minute passage of a plan to avert the brunt of the so-called fiscal cliff. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 234 points, or 1.8%, to 13,338 shortly after the opening bell on Wall Street. Wednesday morning's rally follows the Dow's 1.3% jump late in trading on New Year's Eve on signs of an emerging deal between President Obama and congressional leaders.

Investors, gradually coming to believe that policy makers will fail to reach a meaningful agreement to avert the so-called fiscal cliff before a year-end deadline, dumped stocks Friday in a selloff that put the blue-chip index into the red for the month.

Stocks are closing lower after a weak holiday shopping report sent shares of major retailers lower. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 24 points to close at 13,114 Wednesday. It was the third straight loss for the Dow.

The New York Stock Exchange is being sold to a little-known rival in Atlanta for about $8 billion, ending more than two centuries of independence for the iconic Big Board. The buyer, IntercontinentalExchange, a 12-year-old exchange that deals in investing contracts known as futures, said Thursday that little would change for the trading floor in Manhattan's financial district.

Facebook joins the Nasdaq-100 Index, a move accelerated by the departure of Infosys, which is moving to the New York Stock Exchange.

Apple's market capitalization fell below $500 billion on Thursday as shares of the world's most valuable listed company continued to slide after suffering their worst one-day decline in nearly four years.

Stocks extended their climb on Friday, with the Dow Industrial Average gaining over 100 points. Retailers are strong on what is usually the biggest shopping day of the year, with techs and materials also advancing.