By Sue Chang and Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

Alcoa shares drop after downbeat results

U.S. stocks moved in a tight range Friday, weaving between small gains and losses, but the main indexes were on track to post sizable weekly gains.

Friday's up-and-down trading follow days of global equity-market rallies, in part fueled by a sharp rebound in commodity prices.

"The market had a big week so it's taking a bit of a breather," said Myles Clouston, a senior director at Nasdaq.

Investors are also selling to reposition ahead of peak earnings season which is expected to pick up next week, he added.

Frank Cappelleri, executive director of institutional equities at Instinet LLC, said he is encouraged by the recent market action.

"The market's strength has been pretty telling this week given how far the S&P 500 has already come. Including today, the S&P 500 has advanced nearly 8% over a nine day period," he said. "This compares to the 8.2% gain we witnessed from late August to mid-September. But that rally took 16 days to unfold," Cappelleri said.

The S&P 500 was 2 points, or 0.2% lower, at 2,010, but was still on track to post its biggest weekly gain this year. Industrial stocks led the gains, while seven of its 10 main sectors were trading lower, paced by energy and financial stocks. Sentiment has been closely tracking oil prices.

Read: Oil prices, stock market find themselves in strange relationship (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-stock-market-find-themselves-in-strange-relationship-2015-09-23)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed but trending higher at 17,055. Blue-chips are on pace to record their best weekly gains, 3.6%, since February. The Nasdaq Composite was up 9 points, or 0.2%, higher at 4,820.

"Unlike two weeks ago, we are in an environment where the path of least resistance is to go higher," said Maris Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors. "The next big hurdle for markets is earnings," said Ogg.

So far, earnings have been lackluster, with Alcoa Inc. (AA) posting disappointing results after the close of trading on Thursday.

The aluminum producer said it now expects 2015 automotive production growth in China to be in the range of 1% to 2% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alcoa-slashes-it-outlook-for-chinas-production-of-cars-heavy-duty-trucks-2015-10-08), down from a previous outlook of 5% to 8% growth. Shares were off 4.8%.

This week's stock-market advances came after Fed minutes showed officials were reluctant to raise interest rates due to global risk concerns. Mike O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, criticized the post-minutes gains, saying they were "another example of today's broken markets."

"Who is gleaning market-moving insights into three-week-old minutes while the data has shifted over the subsequent time?" said O'Rourke in a note. "The equity market is once again in the position where the price action is the lone bullish catalyst." And that, he says is the most fleeting of all potential drivers of asset prices.

U.S. import and export prices dipped in September (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-import-prices-dip-slightly-in-september-2015-10-09), underlying continued weakness in demand. The prices the U.S. paid for imported goods fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in September, much smaller than the 1.6% plunge in the prior month, the government said Friday. The price of U.S.-made goods exported to other nations declined by 0.7% last month.

Stocks to watch: Outside of post-earnings reaction from Alcoa, shares of Gap Inc. (GPS) sank more than 5% after the fashion retailer reported late Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gap-reports-downbeat-outlook-sept-sales-drop-2015-10-08) that total sales fell 1% in September, hit by a stronger dollar and weakness for its Banana Republic unit.

Tesla Motors Inc.(TSLA) dropped 2.3% after Barclays downgraded shares of the company.

Shares of International Paper Co. (IP) climbed 4.9% after it announced late Thursday is plans to sell its 55% stake in a joint Venue in China.

Read: Elon Musk: Here's why we call Apple the 'Tesla graveyard' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/elon-musk-heres-why-we-call-apple-the-tesla-graveyard-2015-10-09)

Other markets:Asian shares rallied (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-rise-after-fed-minutes-cast-doubt-on-rate-hike-2015-10-09) in the wake of the Fed minutes and hopes for lower U.S. rates for longer. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 1.2%, while the Nikkei 225 index gained 1.6%.

European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-climb-for-sixth-day-after-dovish-fed-minutes-2015-10-09) were also enjoying gains, driven by commodity-related stocks.

A weaker dollar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-steadies-in-wake-of-dovish-tone-out-of-fed-minutes-2015-10-09) supported crude oil (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-atop-50-as-dollar-falls-market-eyes-possible-producer-collaboration-2015-10-09), with U.S. futures prices up 0.8% to $49.81 a barrel. Gold prices climbed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/metals-rally-after-as-us-rate-hike-expectations-fade-2015-10-09) $14.70 to $1,158.80 an ounce.

--Barbara Kollmeyer contributed to this article.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 09, 2015 12:58 ET (16:58 GMT)