A handful of regional stocks closed higher Friday in a day marked by conflicting economic reports and concerns about looming federal budget cuts.

Shares in Great Plains Energy finished 0.7 percent higher following Thursday’s favorable quarterly earnings report. The parent of Kansas City Power & Light also projected higher earnings for 2013.

Other regional winners Friday included Cerner, up 2 percent, O’Reilly Automotive, up 0.8 percent, and Capitol Federal, up 0.7 percent.

Shares in Sprint finished unchanged on the day.

Garmin was the biggest percentage loser, falling 2.3 percent.

On Wall Street, stocked edged higher, closing out a volatile week, as an upturn in manufacturing outweighed the threat of looming cuts to government spending.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 35.17 points, or 0.25 percent, to close at 14,089.66, overcoming an early loss of 116 points.

Big swings have come back to the stock market over the past week following relatively calm trading in January and most of February. The automatic budget cuts, worries over how soon the Fed may wind down its economic stimulus and Italy’s inconclusive elections have made trading more volatile.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.52 points to 1,518.20. The Nasdaq rose 9.55 or 0.3 percent to 3,169.74

Four stocks rose for every three that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was average, 3.7 billion shares.

The BATS 1000 rose 23.32 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 17,139.84.

Regional stocks

Capitol Federal Financial rose 8 cents, or 0.68%, to close at $11.91.

Cerner Corp. rose $1.77, or 2.02%, to close at $89.23.

Commerce Bancshares Inc. fell 11 cents, or 0.29%, to close at $37.98.

Compass Minerals fell 22 cents, or 0.30%, to close at $73.50.

DST Systems Inc. fell 5 cents, or 0.07%, to close at $67.87.

Ferrellgas Partners L.P. rose 29 cents, or 1.41%, to close at $20.88.

Garmin Ltd. rose 78 cents, or 2.27%, to close at $35.14.

Great Plains Energy rose 16 cents, or 0.73%, to close at $21.99.

H&R Block Inc. fell 8 cents, or 0.32%, to close at $24.78.

Inergy L.P. rose 10 cents, or 0.50%, to close at $20.06.

Kansas City Life Insurance Co. fell 12 cents, or 0.32%, to close at $37.20.

Kansas City Southern fell 95 cents, or 0.92%, to close at $102.02.

Layne Christensen Co. fell 19 cents, or 0.86%, to close at $21.80.

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. rose 83 cents, or 0.82%, to close at $102.62.

Sprint Nextel Corp. was unchanged at $5.80.

UMB Financial Corp. rose 2 cents, or 0.04%, to close at $45.61.

Waddell & Reed Financial Corp. fell 15 cents, or 0.37%, to close at $40.87.

YRC Worldwide Inc. fell 5 cents, or 0.82%, to close at $6.08.