Dow, S&P rise, but Greek woes keep bears on prowl

The Dow and S&P 500 rose after France and Germany outlined an agreement to aid debt-burdened Greece, but analysts said a recent bearish trend may not be over.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 42.84 points, or 0.36 percent, to end at 12,004.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 3.86 points, or 0.30 percent, to 1,271.50. But the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 7.22 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,616.48.

European shares rose after French and German leaders signalled progress towards a second Greek bailout, but still racked up a seventh straight weekly loss -- the longest such run in three and a half years.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares provisionally closed up 0.3 percent at 1,087.89 points. It was still down 0.2 percent on the week, however, after failing to break above the intra-week high.

The Nikkei stock average fell to a three-month low as investors moved into safer assets with worries over Greece's debt problems compounding jitters that the global economy may be slowly headed for a sustained slowdown. Tokyo stocks hit their lowest close since March 18.The benchmark Nikkei closed down 0.6 percent at 9,351.40 while the broader Topix shed 0.9 percent to 805.34.