U.S. stocks end mixed amid Fed official remarks

U.S. stocks closed mixed after wavering in a tight range Friday, as investors digested remarks from a U.S. Federal Reserve official amid corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16.64 points, or 0.09 percent, to 18,145.71. The S&P 500 edged down 0.18 point, or 0.01 percent, to 2,141.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 15.57 points, or 0.30 percent, to 5,257.40.

San Francisco Fed President John Williams on Friday said he wanted to see the U.S. central bank resume rate hikes "preferably sooner rather than later," according to media reports.

"In the context of a strong economy with good momentum, it makes sense to get back to a pace of gradual rate increases," Williams said in a speech to the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.

Analysts widely hold that the Fed would keep interest rate unchanged in its November meeting, while possibly hike the rate in December.

In corporate news, Microsoft posted better-than-expected quarterly results after Thursday's closing bell, and its shares surged 4.21 percent to 59.66 U.S. dollars apiece Friday.

The tech giant's net income was 4.7 billion U.S. dollars, and diluted earnings per share were 60 cents for the third quarter 2016.

Shares of General Electric fell 0.31 percent to 28.98 dollars apiece Friday after the company delivered quarterly earnings above estimates but revenues shy of forecast.

No major economic data came out Friday.

For the week, the Dow edged up 0.04 percent, and the S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent, while the Nasdaq gained 0.8 percent. Endit