"The S&P 500 Index (SPX) once again continued its battle with 1,500 and actually ended up slightly above it," summarized Schaeffer's Senior Equity Analyst Joe Bell. "After being rejected near the area during yesterday's trading, the fact that the index finished just above this big round-number level was a nice way to end the week," he noted. In other index news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) ended in the green for the sixth straight session and remains on pace for its best January since 1994.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• How to trade an aggressive straddle in Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), from Senior Options Strategist Tony Venosa, CMT.
• Senior Trading Analyst Bryan Sapp plots the "level to trade against from the long side."
• Option Idea of the Week: Why Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) may have more room to run.

• Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) falls into second place, eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) speculators stay hopeful, and the housing recovery takes a breather.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) turned in a sixth consecutive winning performance, adding 71 points, or 0.5%. For the week, the blue-chip index settled with a 1.8% gain. Of the 30 Dow components, 23 closed in positive territory, led by Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), which added 4% after issuing strong earnings results. Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) brought up the rear, with losses of 1.1% each.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) muscled above round-number resistance at the 1,500 level, ultimately closing up 8 points, or 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) bounced back from yesterday's declines, moving 19 points, or 0.6%, higher. For the week, the SPX gained 1.1% while the COMP advanced 0.5%.

The CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) trekked higher on the day but was contained south of the 13 level, closing with a gain of 0.2 point, or 1.6%. On a weekly basis, the VIX moved 3.5% higher.

A Trader's Take:

"The day got off to a pretty nice start after being greeted by strong price action in Europe," said Bell. "Earnings once again took the spotlight on the domestic front and, overall, were pretty good. We again saw consumer discretionary stocks help lead, while technology names were among the laggards," he added.

3 Things to Know About Today's Market:

• Dow component Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) issued a positive earnings surprise, booking profits of $1.22 per share (excluding items), exceeding analysts' expectations. In response, the company was able to lift its fiscal 2013 outlook north of earlier projections. (USA Today)
• New-home sales eased 7.3% in December (compared to the previous month) to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000. While this reading was below analysts' estimates, the number for November was revised higher to the best monthly sales rate since April 2010. (Chicago Tribune)
• A day after disappointing earnings resulted in a 12% drop, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) lost its perch as the largest U.S. company. In intraday trading today, Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) regained the number-one spot (in terms of stock-market value), $416.9 billion to $415.09 billion, respectively. (The Wall Street Journal)

5 Stocks We Were Watching Today:

1. eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) optimists scooped up short-term, in-the-money calls.
2. Ctrip.com International (NASDAQ:CTRP) bulls gambled on a rebound.
3. Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) was downgraded at Goldman Sachs this morning, even while options players have taken a bullish stance.
4. Under Armour (NYSE:UA) traders bought calls in spite of the stock's increased volatility.
5. In the wake of its earnings-induced rush higher, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) attracted eleventh-hour traders executing a variety of strategies.

For a look at today's options movers and commodities activity, head to page 2.