U.S. stocks rose slightly on Friday as investors speculated quarterly earnings would show continued growth, but volume was expected to be light.

The earnings season will begin unofficially with Alcoa Inc , the first Dow component to release results after the market's close on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co and Google Inc are due to report later in the week.

Recent volume has been among the lowest of the year as investors wait to see how corporations are faring in an environment with overseas headwinds but also signs of recovery.

Most people are very bullish and focused on earnings season, which should see solid growth, especially in financials, technology and commodities, said Paul Brigandi, vice president of trading at Direxion Funds in New York.

Brigandi added that the S&P was nearing resistance around 1,345, near its 2011 high, and that could make larger near-term gains more difficult.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 12.00 points, or 0.10 percent, at 12,421.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 2.19 points, or 0.16 percent, at 1,335.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 3.62 points, or 0.13 percent, at 2,799.76.

Commodity stocks rose. Brent crude climbed to a 32-month high and was at $124.49 a barrel on concern of a shortage of Libyan oil. Occidental Petroleum Corp rose 1 percent to $102.16 and the S&P Energy index <.GSPE> rose 0.6 percent.

Commodity prices continue to rise, and that's helping to give a boost to the market overall, Brigandi said.

The White House and Congress faced a midnight deadline to break a budget deadlock and avoid a government shutdown. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, told NBC's Today program that negotiators were very close.

Shares of Seagate Technology Plc climbed 9.5 percent to $16.09 a day after it reinstated its dividend and said it expects its third-quarter revenue and margins to come in at the higher end of its previous guidance.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)