U.S. stocks closed flat on Friday even though investors welcomed Spain's efforts to seek a bailout and cheered Apple's newest iPhone that went on sale today, driving its shares to a record high.
Apple Inc, the world's most valuable public company in terms of market capitalization, jumped to an all-time high of $705.07 (USD) as customers lined up to buy the iPhone 5.
News from Spain helped lift stocks after the debt-laden country said it was considering freezing pensions and speeding up a planned rise in the retirement age as it raced to cut spending and meet conditions of an expected international sovereign aid package.
The moves, taken with the European Central Bank's efforts to spur growth in the euro zone and the Fed's recent announcement of a third round of quantitative easing, continued to underpin gains.
This week, though, the market's action has been muted, with the S&P 500 barely moving 0.6 percent in either direction daily.
Earlier, the S&P 500 hit an intraday high of 1,467.07, while the Nasdaq reached a session high of 3,196.93.
Volume totaled 7.92 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the Amex.
Advancers beat decliners on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq by a ratio of 3 to 2. On the NYSE, there were 303 stocks hitting new highs and eight setting new lows. On the Nasdaq, 191 stocks touched new highs while 28 stocks reached new lows.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 17.46 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 13,579.47. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped just 0.11 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to finish at 1,460.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 4.00 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,179.96.
