After a roller-coaster ride during the day, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 43.97 points, or 0.4 percent, at 11,659.90. The Nasdaq was down 1.15 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 2,452.52 points. Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's 500 finished at 1,298.20, up 5.27 or 0.41 percent.

Most companies benefited with a drop in everything from crude oil to copper, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"This market is undergoing a real secular change," Bill O'Grady, chief investment strategist at Wachovia Securities, told the Journal.

On the New York Stock Exchange, the listed volume was 4.04 billion shares.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury notes gained 13/32 to yield 3.850 percent.

Against the euro the dollar was at 1.4673 from Thursday's 1.4809. The dollar against the yen was at 110.51 after Thursday's 109.63.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average rose 62.61 points to 13,019.41, up 0.48 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index fell 42.60 to 5,454.80, off 0.77 percent.