Stocks Closed Friday Little Changed, Gained Weekly

U.S. stocks closed virtually unchanged on Friday, ending the most tumultuous week in memory with modest gains, as investors seemed undecided on how to interpret comments from Federal Reserve officials. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed off 11.76 points, or 0.071%, to 16,643.01 and gained 1.1% over the week. The S&P 500 was up 1.21 points, or 0.06%, to 1,988.87 and recorded a 0.9% weekly gain. The Nasdaq Composite rose 15.62 points, or 0.32% to 4,828.33 and rose 2.6% over the week.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Friday left the door open to a September interest rate hike even while several central bank officials acknowledged that turmoil in financial markets, if prolonged, could delay monetary policy tightening.

Oil futures settled higher Friday, with U.S. prices up by nearly 12% for the week. October crude rose $2.66, or 6.3%, to settle at $45.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Legendary investor Carl Icahn has set his sights on miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) saying the company shares are undervalued and that he plans on having discussions about executive pay and capital expenditures, according to a filing.