After nearly falling into a bear market, U.S. stocks finished the week higher on Friday, building gains on encouraging jobs data and hopes that Europe was dealing with its debt crisis.

For Friday, The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slipped 19.98 points, or 0.18 percent, to 11,103.35. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX><.INX> fell 9.51 points, or 0.82 percent, to 1,155.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 27.47 points, or 1.10 percent, to 2,479.35.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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