Roundup: U.S. stocks end mixed amid diving oil prices

U.S. stocks closed mixed Friday after wavering in a tight range, as investors digested the country's consumer price data amid a plunge in oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 21.44 points, or 0.13 percent, to 16,391.99. The S&P 500 edged down 0.05 point, or less than 0.01 percent, to 1,917.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 16.89 points, or 0.38 percent, to 4,504.43.

Oil prices suffered big losses Friday, with both the U.S. oil and Brent crude shedding over 3 percent, after government data showed a rise in U.S. crude stockpiles.

The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery moved down 1.13 U.S. dollars to settle at 29.64 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery decreased 1.27 dollars to close at 33.01 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Oil prices witnessed wild swings recently amid talks of a coordinated plan by producers to freeze output levels.

The U.S. oil has tumbled more than 22 percent over oversupply concerns since the beginning of the year.

On the economic front, the consumer price index (CPI) for all urban consumers was unchanged in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in January, which increased 2.2 percent over the past 12 months. This is its highest 12-month change since the period ending June 2012 and exceeds the 1.9 percent average annualized increase over the last 10 years.

"The year-over-year headline CPI reading is in skyrocket mode, jumping from 0.7 percent in December to 1.4 percent in January. This is what the Fed means when they say the effects of energy and the strong dollar are transitory," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

Overseas, European equities decreased broadly Friday, with French benchmark index CAC 40 falling 0.39 percent, as a renewed decline in oil prices weighed on market sentiment.

In Asia, Chinese benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.1 percent to close at 2,860.02 points Friday, while Japanese 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 1.42 percent on the yen's appreciation.

For the holiday-shorted week, all three major indices saw biggest weekly gains in 2016, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq surging 2.6 percent, 2.8 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 5.13 percent to end at 20.53 Friday.

In other markets, the U.S. dollar decreased against most major peers on Friday as plunging oil prices raised market demand for safe-haven currencies including the Japanese yen and Swiss francs.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1132 dollars from 1.1092 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 112.51 Japanese yen, lower than 113.57 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose Friday as the U.S. Dollar showed weakness.

The most active gold contract for April delivery added 4.5 dollars, or 0.37 percent, to settle at 1,230.8 dollars per ounce. Endit