Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were relatively flat on Friday, as considerable declines among Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and several other major technology companies offset across the board gains following a strong batch of quarterly earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 21.23 or 0.12% to 18,003.75, while the S&P 500 Composite index inched up 0.10 or 0.01% to 2,091.58, as both indices remained near 2016-yearly highs. The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, dipped 39.66 or 0.80% to 4,906.23, finishing as the session's underperformer. On the S&P 500, eight of 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Energy, Utilities and Financials led. Stocks in the Technology industry lagged, falling nearly 2% on the session. U.S. crude futures closed above $43 a barrel, ending the week up approximately 8%. As a result, stocks in the energy sector closed up on Friday by more than 1.3%.
The top performer on the Dow was Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), which added 0.96 or 2.19% to 44.62. Coca-Cola finished just above The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which bounced from lows during Thursday's session when the insurance giant ended the day as the worst stock among the 30 Dow components. On Thursday, Travelers' fell sharply after the company said its profits slumped 17% over the first quarter due primary to a slew of catastrophic storms in Texas over the first three months of the year.
The worst performer was Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which tumbled 3.96 or 7.10% to 51.82. It came one day after the Redmond, Washington-based company narrowly missed analysts' quarterly forecasts, amid worse than expected results from its Cloud-based business. With the considerable losses, Microsoft shaved off 25 points from the Dow.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP), which extended sharp gains from the previous after analysts at JMP Securities initiated coverage in the specialty pharmaceutical company with a favorable rating. Shares in Endo International soared 2.04 or 6.41% to 33.87, building on gains from Thursday when it surged as much as 12%. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) also finished as the worst performer on the NASDAQ, just below Alphabet, which plunged 42.10 or 5.40% to 737.90. At one point, Google slipped below its 200-day moving average, while suffering one of its worst days in three years. After the close of trading on Thursday, Google missed analysts' quarterly earnings forecasts amid heavy foreign exchange and equity investment losses.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN), which jumped 1.57 or 14.71% to 12.24. For the week, energy stocks soared by approximately 5%. Microsoft was the worst performer on the S&P 500, as well, just below Perrigo Company, which lost 7.18 or 5.58% to 121.50. Perrigo shares took a hit after the Wall Street Journal reported that Valeant is finalizing a contract with Perrigo CEO Joseph Papa for the same position.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declines ones by a 2,135-908 margin.