NEW YORK, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- After spending the trading session in positive territory, U.S. stock indexes were mixed at the close of Friday's bell on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped just into negative territory, closing off 0.61 point, or 0.01 percent, at 12,019.42.
The Nasdaq added 0.39 point to finish the session at 2,626.93.
The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 0.03 point, or 0.02 percent, to close at 1,244.28.
The markets reacted positively to the U.S. Labor Department's report the unemployment rate dropped to 8.6 percent in November from 9 percent in the previous month.
The markets also responded favorably on word that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy were finalizing a plan to strengthen eurozone stability rules, including implementing EU treaty changes, for presentation next week.
On the New York Stock Exchange, the listed volume of shares was 3.95 billion.
The euro was 1.3405 from $1.3463 Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was 77.97 from Wednesday's 77.72 yen from Thursday's 77.63 yen.
The 10-year treasury note was yielding 2.037 percent.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei Average closed at 8,643.75, up 46.36.
In London, FTSE 100 closed up 62.95 to 5,552.29.
