NEW YORK, New YorK - U.S. stocks closed mixed on Friday, with gains and losses modest, as investors and traders weighed up the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, and President Donald Trump's prevarications over whether or not to involve  the U.S. in another war. 

"With so much uncertainty going on in this world, who really wants to go long over the weekend," Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research told CNBC Friday.

"If there's a calming down of the geopolitical activities, then you know that could be helpful," he said.

Major U.S. indexes ended Friday's trading session with mixed results as investors weighed economic data and corporate earnings ahead of the weekend. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led declines, while the Dow Jones managed modest gains. Technology stocks faced pressure following mixed earnings reports, while defensive sectors helped the Dow end in positive territory. Trading volumes were moderate, with the S&P 500 seeing 4.936 billion shares change hands.

Analysts noted cautious sentiment ahead of next week's key inflation data and Federal Reserve commentary.

Key Market Moves

• S&P 500: Closed at 5,967.84, down 13.03 points (-0.22 percent) in light trading.

• NASDAQ Composite: Fell to 19,447.41, dropping 98.86 points (-0.51 percent) amid a pullback in big tech names.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Inched up to 42,206.82, gaining 35.16 points (+0.08 percent) as industrial stocks provided support.

Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with U.S. Dollar Back on Top

Friday's foreign exchange session saw the U.S. dollar gaining against all the major currencies. Here's a breakdown of Friday's latest FX rates:

Key Currency Pairs

• EUR/USD (Euro/US Dollar): Rose to 1.1521 up 0.24 percent as the euro strengthened slightly.

• USD/JPY (US Dollar/Japanese Yen): Climbed to 146.11, gaining 0.46 percent amid continued dollar strength.

• USD/CAD (US Dollar/Canadian Dollar): Increased to 1.3732, up 0.25 percent as oil-linked currencies faced pressure.

• GBP/USD (British Pound/US Dollar): Edged lower to 1.3453, dipping 0.09 percent in cautious trading.

• USD/CHF (US Dollar/Swiss Franc): Advanced to 0.8176, rising 0.15 percent as the franc softened.

Commodity Currencies Under Pressure

• AUD/USD (Australian Dollar/US Dollar): Fell to 0.6450, down 0.47 percent on weaker risk sentiment.

• NZD/USD (New Zealand Dollar/US Dollar): Dropped to 0.5965, declining 0.44 percent in tandem with broader commodity FX weakness.

Global Markets Wrap Up Friday with Mixed Performance

Friday's trading session saw mixed results across global indices, with some markets posting gains while others edged lower. Here's a detailed look at the closing figures: European markets showed resilience, with Germany's DAX leading gains, while Asian indices were mixed amid varied regional economic signals. India's Sensex stood out with a strong rally, whereas Australia and New Zealand saw slight declines.

Canada

• S&P/TSX Composite (Canada): Finished nearly flat at 26,497.57, slipping just 8.43 points (-0.03 percent).

UK and Europe

• FTSE 100 (UK): Closed at 8,774.65, down 17.15 points (-0.20 percent).

• DAX (Germany): Rose sharply to 23,350.55, gaining 293.17 points (+1.27 percent).

• CAC 40 (France): Ended at 7,589.66, up 36.21 points (+0.48 percent).

• EURO STOXX 50: Advanced to 5,233.58, adding 36.55 points (+0.70 percent).

• BEL 20 (Belgium): Climbed to 4,439.53, increasing by 27.82 points (+0.63 percent).

Asia and Pacific

• Hang Seng (Hong Kong): Jumped to 23,530.48, up 292.74 points (+1.26 percent).

• Nikkei 225 (Japan): Dipped to 38,403.23, down 85.11 points (-0.22 percent).

• SSE Composite (China): Closed at 3,359.90, slipping 2.21 points (-0.07 percent).

• STI (Singapore): Slipped to 3,883.43, losing 10.75 points (-0.28 percent).

• S&P/ASX 200 (Australia): Fell to 8,505.50, down 18.20 points (-0.21 percent).

• All Ordinaries (Australia): Dropped to 8,723.50, declining by 17.90 points (-0.20 percent).

• S&P BSE SENSEX (India): Surged to 82,408.17, gaining 1,046.30 points (+1.29 percent).

• IDX Composite (Indonesia): Declined to 6,907.14, down 61.50 points (-0.88 percent).

• KLSE (Malaysia): Inched up to 1,502.74, rising 1.30 points (+0.09 percent).

• NZX 50 (New Zealand): Fell to 12,569.05, losing 58.27 points (-0.46 percent).

• KOSPI (South Korea): Rose to 3,021.84, up 44.10 points (+1.48 percent).

• TWSE (Taiwan): Gained slightly to 22,045.74, adding 42.24 points (+0.19 percent).

Middle East

Middle East markets were mostly closed on Friday and will re-open on Sunday.

Africa 

• Johannesburg All Share (South Africa): Ended at 5,202.45, up 23.46 points (+0.45 percent).

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