Washington - US stocks were mixed Friday as investors awaited congressional approval of a 700-billion-dollar financial rescue plan.

The Standard & Poor's 500 broad-based index rose 4.09 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,213.27. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 121.07, or 1.1 per cent, to 1,1143.13. The high tech Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 3.23, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,183.34.

The S&P 500 was down 3.3 per cent on the week and the Dow slipped 2.2 per cent.

Congress continued to debate the 700-billion-dollar plan on acquire mortgage-backed securities on Friday and looked likely to continue discussions through the weekend in hopes of completing a deal before markets reopen Monday.

JP Morgan Chase gained the most in the Dow average, advancing 4.78 dollars to 48.24 dollars, after acquiring the assets of failed bank Washington Mutual Inc late Thursday. Financial companies lost ground in morning trading, but recovered in the S&P 500 to rise 3.2 per cent on the day, Bloomberg financial news reported.

WaMu, based in Seattle, Washington, collapsed when its credit rating was downgraded to junk status this week, bringing action by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), a government agency that insures bank accounts up to 100,000 dollars.

After federal regulators shut down the bank, WaMu's deposit accounts were immediately purchased by banking giant JP Morgan Chase & Co for 1.9 billion dollars, guaranteeing that no depositors would lose money.

The US dollar remained stagnant at 68.43 euro cents. The greenback slipped against the Japanese yen to 106.01 yen from 106.51 on Thursday. (dpa)