U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday, with the S&P 500 rising a fraction of a point to notch another record, as investors tracked the price of oil and after October , just above expectations, along with a November jump in consumer confidence.
"The real trade will be when everybody wakes up and realizes lower oil prices are a tailwind for the consumer. Increased consumer confidence, higher levels of employment and lower gasoline prices, I really believe none of that is baked into the cake yet," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.
Baker Hughes rose after the oilfield-services provider confirmed discussions with Halliburton. Hertz Global Holdings declined after the car-rental company said it would restate three years of financial results.
Investors are currently viewing the decline in crude "as a read on the global economy rather what it truly is, which is a read on global supply," said Hogan.
Another economic report from the government on Friday had U.S. import prices falling in September the most in two years as the cost of petroleum products fell and a stronger dollar made it cheaper for Americans to buy goods from abroad.
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Major U.S. Indexes
Up 0.4 percent from the week-ago close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 18.05 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,634.74, with Johnson & Johnson pacing blue-chip losses that extended to 14 of 30 components.
Also tallying a 0.4 percent weekly gain, the rose a fraction to 2,039.82, lifting it to a record finish, with consumer staples the worst performer and energy the best among its 10 industry groups.
The Nasdaq advanced 8.40 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,688.54, up 1.2 percent from last Friday's finish.
All three indexes advanced for a fourth week, with the S&P 500 up just over 10 percent for the year.
For every seven shares falling, roughly eight rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where almost 705 million shares traded. Composite volume surpassed 3.2 billion.
The U.S. dollar declined against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners; the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 2 basis points to 2.3213 percent.
After the prior session's fall to a four-year low, crude-oil futures on Friday gained $1.61 to $75.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures rose $24.10 to $1,185.60 an ounce.
On Thursday, U.S. stocks fluctuated after the S&P 500 and Dow rose to records, with energy companies slammed as the price of oil fell, countering upbeat earnings from the world's largest retailer and data showing jobless claims holding at a 14-year low.
Read More Wal-Mart helps lift Dow industrials to record finish
—By CNBC's Kate Gibson
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