Dow +81.09 at 13155.13, Nasdaq -11.23 at 2978.04, S&P +4.13 at 1418.07

Equities started the day in the black following the release of November nonfarm payrolls, which revealed an addition of 146,000 jobs. However, the optimism was short-lived and stocks surrendered their early gains after the preliminary reading of the December Michigan Sentiment fell short of estimates. The remainder of the session was relatively quiet as the S&P 500 traded near its unchanged line, the Nasdaq hovered near its lows, while the Dow spent the day climbing back to its highs. As a result, the benchmark S&P 500 index finished higher by 0.3%. 

This morning, House Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi both spoke before the media in Washington, but their message remained the same. During his remarks, Speaker Boehner said that no progress has been made in negotiations and the White House "has wasted another week." Meanwhile, Representative Pelosi reiterated that Democrats stand ready to extend Bush-era tax cuts for all but top 2% of earners. 

Financials have outperformed after Wednesday's announcement from Citigroup (C 37.64, +0.62) indicated the company will dismiss more than 11,000 employees. Citigroup advanced 1.7% today and most majors saw comparable gains. However, Goldman Sachs (GS 116.57, -0.63) and Wells Fargo(WFC 33.23, +0.09) missed out on the sector-wide rally. Earlier, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Goldman Sachs to pay a $1.5 million civil monetary penalty to settle charges stemming from failure to diligently supervise its employees in late 2007.

Although domestic financials advanced, their European counterparts were relatively weaker. Spain's Banco Santander (SAN 7.59, -0.05) and Germany's Deutsche Bank (DB 44.82, -0.67) settled lower by 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively.

The tech sector was the biggest laggard and Apple (AAPL 533.25, -13.99) continued its weakness. The largest tech component lost 2.6% during today's session, and is down nearly 10.0% since Monday.

Elsewhere in technology, networking stocks were generally lower and Cisco Systems (CSCO 19.33, -0.14) shed 0.7%. Earlier, the company held its Analyst Day where Chief Executive Officer said Cisco has "gone too long" without making an acquisition. 

Major hard drive manufacturers have enjoyed a strong week. Since Monday, Seagate (STX 28.34, -0.19) has added over 12.0% while Western Digital (WDC 37.60, +0.50) has rallied more than 11.0%. Today, the two headed in opposite directions. Seagate slipped 0.7% while Western Digital gained 1.4%.

In notable analyst action, 3D Systems (DDD 45.61, +1.07) advanced 2.4% after BB&T Capital Markets initiated coverage with a ‘Buy' rating and a $60 price target.

The GEO Group (GEO 32.00, +2.56) was the second-best S&P 500 component. The correctional facility operator surged 8.7% after the company authorized a special dividend of $350 million, and announced it has taken critical steps towards its planned conversion to a Real Estate Investment Trust. As a REIT, the company is expected to generate between $215 and $225 million in 2013 funds from operations. Peer Corrections Corporation of America (CXW 35.48, +1.37) gained 4.0%.

Last evening, Smith & Wesson (SWHC 9.92, -0.93) reported earnings in-line with the November preannouncement. The company's strong quarter was punctuated by upside third quarter and full-year earnings and revenue guidance. In addition, the Board of Directors has approved a $20 billion share repurchase program which is scheduled to run through June 30, 2013. The stock was up as much as 3.0% in pre-market trade, but settled lower by 8.6% Meanwhile, peer Sturm, Ruger (RGR 51.44, -2.00) lost 3.7%.

Nonfarm payrolls came in at 146K versus the 90K expected by the Briefing.com consensus. The prior reading was revised down to 138K from 171K. Nonfarm private payrolls added 147K against the 120K consensus. The unemployment rate was reported at 7.7%, ahead of the Briefing.com consensus which called for the figure to come in at 8.0%. 

Hourly earnings rose by 0.2% while the expectations called for an uptick of 0.1%. Lastly, average workweek was reported at 34.4, which was in-line with the Briefing.com consensus. 

The preliminary University of Michigan Survey for December came in at 74.5, which is lower than the 82.7 that was posted in the prior month, and worse than the reading of 82.4 that had been expected by the Briefing.com consensus. 

According to the Federal Reserve, consumer credit increased by $14.2 billion in October. This follows prior month's reading of a $11.4 billion increase, and is higher than the $9.9 billion that had been broadly expected among economists polled by Briefing.com. 

Week in Review: Stocks Drift as Fiscal Cliff Looms 

Monday's session began on a positive note as upbeat European trade contributed to the bullish sentiment. However, the strength was temporary and the S&P 500 turned lower once the November ISM Index of 49.5 missed expectations. After sliding to its lows shortly after midday, the S&P 500 remained in the red and settled lower by 0.5%. The materials sector was the biggest laggard as chemical producers saw broad weakness. In addition, utility and industrial stocks underperformed as well. 

Tuesday's trade was confined to a narrow range as the S&P 500 opened near its flat line, and spent the entire day within points of the unchanged level. At midday, Bloomberg TV aired an interview with President Obama, but his remarks were in-line with recent statements. The market did not receive notable economic data and sentiment-driving headlines were limited as well. As such, the benchmark index ended the choppy day with a loss of 0.2%. Netflix (NFLX 85.98, -0.19) surged 8.3% after the company announced a multi-year premium pay-TV window agreement with Walt Disney (DIS 49.24, +0.18). 

On Wednesday, stocks finished the session on a higher note, but gave up a large portion of their gains in the final half-hour. The major averages showed notable divergence as the Dow led with a gain of 0.6% while Nasdaq lost 0.8%. The tech-heavy index lagged the broader market due to considerable weakness in shares of Apple (AAPL 533.25, -13.99), which fell 6.4% and saw their largest one-day drop in four years. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 held near its session high for the majority of the afternoon before late-day selling trimmed its gain to 0.2%.

Thursday opened with initial uncertainty before the major averages staged a climb to their respective highs. Overseas, Standard & Poor's lowered Greece's long term credit rating to ‘Select Default' from ‘CCC.' Meanwhile, Germany's DAX closed at its highest level in nearly five years. Domestically, trade was confined to a narrow range, but late-day buying lifted the S&P 500 to a slim gain of 0.3%.Deutsche Bank (DB 44.82, -0.67) slid 1.3% after reports from Reuters indicated the bank may have hid up to $12 billion in losses in order to avoid having to accept a government bailout.