The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) traversed another rocky road today, with the blue-chip barometer once again exploring both sides of breakeven. Fiscal-cliff chatter remained in focus, with President Barack Obama predicting "prolonged negotiations" on Capitol Hill, and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) confirming that "right now we're almost nowhere." Nevertheless, the bulls eked out a win by the time the dust settled, with the Dow finishing a second straight session atop the 13,000 marker.

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

• Daily Game Plan: Senior Trading Analyst Bryan Sapp examines the fairly rare phenomenon seen on Wall Street today.
• Chart of the Day: Senior Options Strategist Tony Venosa, CMT, shines the spotlight on Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB).
• In Focus: Why bulls should be watching these two charts.

• Everything You Need to Know: Your one-stop shop for levels to watch, economic data, earnings reports, stocks on the move, and commodities action.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) tacked on 3.8 points, or 0.03%, as 17 of its 30 blue chips ended higher. Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) led the advancing equities with a 1.7% gain, while Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) paced the 12 decliners, giving up 1.2% apiece. General Electric (NYSE:GE), meanwhile, finished flat. For the week, the Dow advanced 0.1%, but surrendered 0.5% for the month.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) settled a seesaw session fractionally higher, and ended the week with a gain of 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP), meanwhile, gave up 1.8 points on the day, but advanced 1.5% on the week. For the month, the SPX and COMP jumped 0.3% and 1.1%, respectively.

The CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) finished more than 5% higher, ending north of its 10-day moving average for the first time since Nov. 15. For the week, the VIX added 4.8%, but swallowed a loss of 14.7% in November.

A Trader's Take

"It was a pretty slow Friday," noted Schaeffer's Senior Technical Strategist Ryan Detrick. "Sure, we had the usual rhetoric regarding the fiscal cliff out of Washington, which provided some intraday volatility, but in the end not a lot happened. Once again, the bulls defended their turf. It was a Friday, we've had a good run, there wasn't great news out of Washington, yet the market still hung tough."

What's more, he says, there could be additional upside in store. "We are entering the historically bullish timeframe of December, and things still look good for a Santa Claus rally."

Economic and Earnings News

The Chicago Business Barometer -- better known as the purchasing managers index (PMI) -- edged up to 50.4 in November from October's reading of 49.9. That marks a return to growth for U.S. manufacturing activity, but economists were hoping for a slightly bigger rise to 50.5.

Consumer spending fell 0.2% in October, said the Commerce Department, or 0.3% on an inflation-adjusted basis. Incomes rose 0.1% for the month, representing the 11th consecutive sequential gain. However, the report fell short of consensus expectations, which called for spending to remain flat and incomes to rise 0.2%.

More Stocks Making News:

• Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) scored a vote of confidence from Barclays.
• Visa (NYSE:V) extended its journey into record-high territory.
• Citigroup (NYSE:C) announced plans to cut jobs and bonuses.
• Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) was slammed by post-earnings price-target cuts.
• Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) disappointing sales data attracted negative analyst attention.

For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head to page 2.