Investors pushed stocks higher for the fourth straight week despite rising interest rates amid disappointing Treasury sales. Renewed concerns regarding the sovereign debt crisis in Europe failed to dissuade optimism on Wall Street.

For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 108.38 points, or 1.01%, finishing at 10,850.36. The S&P 500 added 16.6 points, or 1.44%, ending at 1,166.59. The Nasdaq Composite gained 27.47 points, or 1.16%, closing at 2,395.13.

Even with the dollar appreciating against a basket of currencies due to lingering concerns about Greece’s ability to service its debt, oil held firm settling near $80.11 per barrel on Friday. Energy stocks were the laggards last week, followed by the health care sector, materials and utilities. Discretionary and financial stocks led the way higher, and Apple (AAPL) hit a new all-time high after Credit Suisse raised its price target from $275 to $300.

At the macro level, the economy expanded by a healthy 5.6% during the fourth quarter, coming up just shy of expectations. Still, growth has stabilized thanks largely in part to federal spending and a pickup in discretionary spending.

Consumer sentiment edged higher, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan index which produced a final March reading of 73.6. That was a very modest improvement from the 72.5 mid-month reading.

Sentiment is stabilizing thanks to bullish momentum on Wall Street, covering up sustained weakness in the housing and labor market. New home sales took a dip in February, falling 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 308,000. That followed annual rates of 315,000 in January and 345,000 in December. With foreclosures remaining heightened, the White House has drafted a $14 billion plan aimed at providing lenders with incentives to cut debt and payments for those who are unemployed.

On the labor front, jobless claims fell by 15,000 to 442,000 in the March 20 week, sending the four-week average to a recent low of 453,750. Continuing claims dropped to a near-term low of 4.689 million over the last four weeks. Friday’s labor report should serve to further clarify whether steadily declining jobless claims are being reflected in the aggregate employment picture.

New orders for durable goods strengthened over the past several months. February orders were soft, up 0.5%, but January orders were revised up to a surging 3.9% increase.

In addition to being the end of the quarter, this holiday-shortened trading week is loaded with important news, highlighted by the official unemployment report for March. Macroeconomic data scheduled for release this week includes:

Monday – Personal Income and Outlays (February)
Tuesday – S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index (January), Conference Board Consumer Confidence (March)
Wednesday – Factory Orders (February), Chicago PMI (March), ADP Employment (March), Crude Inventories (Weekly)
Thursday –Jobless Claims (Weekly), ISM Mfg Index (March), Construction Spending (February) , Motor Vehicle Sales (March), Federal Reserve Balance Sheet, Money Supply
Friday – Employment Report (March)