Stocks ticked higher on Friday to end the week higher as November's rally continued for another week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite each settled above a positive flatline.

Here's how the market settled to close out the week:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.13% or +5.78 points to 4,514.02

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.01% or +1.81 points to 34,947.28

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +0.08% or +11.81 points to 14,125.48

This week's gains were driven by two softer-than-expected U.S. inflation reports, boosting optimism that the Federal Reserve's rate hiking campaign may be over. All three major averages rose on the week, with the S&P 500 adding 2.2%, Dow climbing 1.9% and the Nasdaq advancing 2.4% -- marking the first three-week winning streak for the Dow and S&P since July and since June for the Nasdaq.

On the earnings front, mentions of "inflation" as a concern during corporate earnings calls reached their lowest levels in more than two years, according to FactSet. Senior Earnings Analyst John Butters noted that financials and industrials sectors most often discussed inflation with analysts post-earnings.

Gap (GPS  ) posted better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results and reaffirmed its full-year guidance. The apparel retailer also expects holiday-quarter sales to range from flat to slightly negative.

"Gap Inc. has weathered a lot of disruption over the last several years, both external macro factors, as well as execution missteps and strategically well intended initiatives have impacted the company. All that said, the opportunity is clear," CEO Richard Dickson said on an earnings call with analysts. "I have conviction that we can reinvigorate our portfolio brands, while we lead a creative culture that attracts, retains and develops the best talent in the industry. I'm encouraged by the early progress we've made to date, but we have a long way to go and a lot of work to do."

In economic news, new U.S. housing construction and building permits rose at a stronger-than-expected rate in October, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Housing starts totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.372 million last month, rising 1.9% from September and coming ahead of economist estimates. Meanwhile, building permits totaled 1.487 million in October, as topping forecasts and 1.1% above September's print.

In single-stock news, Alibaba (BABA  ) shares were under pressure on Friday after the Chinese e-commerce giant announced it would not proceed with the full spin-off of its cloud computing division, citing impacts of the U.S. chip export restrictions.

Looking ahead, holiday shoppers are expected to spend more money this holiday season because they have more to spend, according to a Citigroup survey, foreshadowing a strong Black Friday shopping weekend. The survey found that 34% of the approximately 2,800 respondents said they expect to be spending a higher dollar amount on gift-giving, compared to 27% saying they plan to spend less.