Wall Street stocks edged higher yesterday in light trading, as investors eased quietly into the weekend.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by four to three on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was light at under 300 million shares, down from Thursday's pace.

Broad market indexes were narrowly mixed.

The NYSE composite index was up 0.65 at 348.71. The Standard and Poor's 500 list was up 1.60 at 650.79.

But the Nasdaq composite was off 1.28 at 1,101.07, and the American Stock Exchange's market value index was off 0.20 at 568.20.

Traders were breathing a sigh of relief after long weeks of anxiety. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.76 yesterday to close at 5,636.64.