The Dow Jones industrial average, which opened strong but lost its momentum, gained 6.26 points, or 0.05 percent for the day, closing at 13,365.87. The Nasdaq composite fell 2.33 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,674.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 2.12 points, or 0.14 percent, at 1,478.49.

The Dow jumped nearly 100 points just after the opening bell but most of those gains vanished soon after a U.S. Commerce Department report that new home sales plunged by 9 percent from a month earlier. Economists had expected a much lower 1.8 percent decline. It was the largest drop in more than 12 years.

The volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 1.03 billion shares, with 1,621 stocks advancing and 1,558 declining.

Crude oil prices ended a four-day winning streak, falling 62 cents to $96.00 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bonds advanced. The 10-year Treasury note rose 10/32 to yield 4.079 percent Friday.

The dollar was weaker. The euro traded at $1.4714 from $1.4610 late Thursday, while the dollar changed hands at 112.54 yen from 113.68 yen.