Small-cap stocks pushed higher Friday, with the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rising 4.81, or 0.67%, to 721.88, which marked the highest daily close since Feb. 13. The market had a teeter-totter session, opening higher on earnings news and a firm dollar, then slumping on consumer sentiment jitters and soaring crude oil before staging the afternoon recovery.

Crude oil futures climbed to a record intraday peak Friday at $119.90 per barrel, lifted by supply concerns tied to worker strikes in Nigeria and the North Sea. The supply side concerns were complemented by news of warning shots fired on boats in the Gulf thought to be Iranian, underscoring tensions right now between the United States and Iran.

The market appeared set for a comfortable morning rise early today, but then the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey cast a pall over buyer enthusiasm. The Michigan headline report came out at 62.6, down from 69.5 the previous month, and at the lowest April reading in 26 years. The dour consumer mood sparked a wave of selling across equity products, but the slide never really took hold and stocks were able to recover in the afternoon despite the Michigan survey and spiking crude values.

Speaking of economic data, this week’s report front was the quiet before next week’s storm. Not only will investors have to navigate a frothy sea of economic data risk —  highlighted by Friday’s employment report — but the FOMC meeting Tuesday afternoon could trigger a dramatic market response as everyone struggles to read the Federal Reserve “tea leaves” to see if the end of the easing cycle is nigh.

Back to today’s action, equities likely found some support tied to a solid performance in the U.S. dollar, which climbed about 0.6% against the euro, and was up nearly 0.3% against the yen. The fact that the greenback held onto gains versus the euro despite the jump in crude oil was impressive, as most of the time in recent months the market saw hedge funds scoop up crude and sell dollars in tandem.

This is the heart of first-quarter earnings season, and despite all the other competing news events today, the real thrust behind investor moves in stocks probably remains tied right now to the twists and turns seen on quarterly results. Today’s batch of headline earnings were a mixed affair, with American Express (NYSE:AXP) finding favor with investors and climbing 5%. Meanwhile, tech bellwether Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) results didn’t fare as well, and the stock tumbled about 6%. Given the fact that the Dow is at the highest point since January, and small caps are testing the early February highs, the market overall appears to be embracing earnings news at this stage.

Within broad market sectors, health-care facilities jumped nearly 14%, while tire and rubber shares were up 5%, and thrifts and mortgage firms were up over 6%. On the downside, automobile manufacturers tumbled 6%. Meanwhile, systems-software issues were down almost 5% and semiconductor equipment issues were off nearly 2%.

Among individual small-cap shares, Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:PGNX) shot up 26% on news that the FDA has approved its constipation drug Relistor, which is available in Canada, and should be in Europe by mid-year. Wilshire Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:WIBC) rose 16% on earnings news and Immersion Corp. (Nasdaq:IMMR) climbed 13% amid news that a new CEO and president was appointed. On the downside, NETGEAR Inc. (Nasdaq:NTGR) gapped down and tumbled 17% on heavy volume after soft earnings. Avid Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:AVID) also gapped lower and lost some 16% on earnings-related news. Bottomline Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:EPAY) tumbled nearly 16% after sloppy earnings. Also of interest, Constant Contract Inc. (Nasdaq:CTCT) jumped about 7% on heavy volume and Bridge Capital Holdings (Nasdaq:BBNK) was down nearly 1% on heavy volume without fresh news.

From a technical analysis perspective, this week’s action was important because it showed that the market did not collapse off the initial failed test of important long-term resistance near 724, which marks a 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of the entire bear market collapse. Given the huge amount of key economic data on tap next week, how the charts fare through next week’s action could be critical to setting the stage for the rest of spring trading.