The tech-heavy Nasdaq edged down 6.36 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 23,235.63, the S&P 500 crept up 12.97 points (0.2%) to 6,858.47. The narrower Dow showed a more notable move to the upside, climbing 319.10 points (0.7%) to 48,382.39.
The advance by the blue chip index on the day came amid strong gains by Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT) and Goldman Sachs (GS). A lack of major U.S. economic data may also have kept some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of several key reports next week, including the closely watched monthly jobs report.
Semiconductor stocks substantially moved upwards, resulting in a 4.0% surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Micron Technology (MU) helped to lead the sector higher, with the chipmaker spiking by 10.5% to a record closing high. Oil service stocks saw significant strength despite a modest decrease by the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 3.9%. Computer hardware, banking and networking stocks too moved strongly upside while software stocks moved sharply lower.
Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly higher on Friday, with several major markets closed for holidays. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 2.8%, while South Korea's Kospi jumped by 2.3%. The major European markets also moved upside while the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.6%, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both rose by 0.2%.
In the bond market, treasuries extended the downward move seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note which moves opposite of its price, climbed 2.4 bps to 4.18%.