Stocks squeezed out small gains Friday after zigzagging in a tight range all day as investors were disappointed by the government jobs report, but expectations that the Federal Reserve may launch another round of quantitative easing helped limit losses.

Still, all three major averages posted sharp gains for the week.

"The perception of 'helping' the White House with further accommodation would be too powerful to overcome for the independent central bank, in my opinion," wrote Todd Schoenberger, managing principal at The BlackBay Group. "Well, the problem is, if the Fed does nothing next week and waits, the certainty of a double-dip recession becomes 100 percent."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.64 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 13,36.64, finishing higher for a seventh-straight Friday. BofA led the blue-chip gainers, while Kraft declined.

The S&P 500 climbed 5.80 points, or 0.40 percent, to end at 1,437.92. The Nasdaq eked out a gain of 0.61 points, or 0.02 percent, to finish at 3,136.42.

The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, tumbled below 15.