NEW YORK, New York – U.S. stocks were directionless Friday as investors weighed up a dampening of consumer sentiment following a softening in the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index. While uncertainty continues to surround negotiations on the debt ceiling, with the meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy delayed until next week.

“None of the sectors are making convincing moves in either direction, reflecting a general lack of conviction in the market,” Joe Cusick, portfolio specialist and senior vice president at Calamos Investments told CNBC Friday.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 43.76 points or 0.35 percent to 12,284.74.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 retreated 6.54 points or 0.16 percent to 4,124.08.

The Dow Jones industrials edged down 8.89 points or 0.03 percent to 33,300.62.

The NYSE Composite (DJ) closed at 15,246.26, down 16.81 points, or 0.11 percent, while the NYSE AMEX Composite Index closed at 3,963.56, up 6.33 points, or 0.16 percent.

Meanwhile, the Russell 2000 in the US closed down 3.86 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1,740.85.

The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, closed at 16.97, up 0.04 points, or 0.24 percent, indicating that investors are still somewhat cautious about the market.

On Friday, the world foreign exchange markets saw some sharp fluctuations in currency rates, with all the majors giving way to the greenback. The Euro/U.S. dollar pair closed at 1.0849, a decrease of 0.60 percent. The Japanese yen fell 0.87 percent, or 1.167, to 135.69.

The U.S. dollar/Canadian dollar pair also increased by 0.48 percent or 0.00648, closing around 1.3554.

The British pound dropped 0.48 percent to 1.2449. The Swiss franc shed 0.48 percent to 0.8985.

The Australian dollar closed at 0.6645, a decrease of 0.84 percent. Across the Tasman, the New Zealand dollar saw a significant decrease of 1.64 percent, ending at around 0.6194.

World stock markets closed with mixed results on Friday. European markets saw slight gains, with the ESTX 50 PR.EUR increasing by 8.13 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 4,317.88, and the Euronext 100 Index climbing by 6.01 points, or 0.44 percent, to end at 1,366.85. The BEL 20 also saw a small increase, rising by 1.24 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 3,741.07.

Meanwhile, the DAX PERFORMANCE-INDEX increased by 78.91 points, or 0.50 percent, to finish at 15,913.82, and the CAC 40 climbed by 33.07 points, or 0.45 percent, to end at 7,414.85.

In Russia, the MOEX Russia Index fell by 4.14 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 2,222.51.

The FTSE 100 rose by 24.04 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 7,754.62.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index saw gains, rising by 261.58 points, or 0.90 percent, to close at 29,388.30. However, the HANG SENG INDEX fell by 116.55 points, or 0.59 percent, to end at 19,627.24.

In China, the SSE Composite Index dropped by 37.19 points, or 1.12 percent, to close at 3,272.36, while the Shenzhen Index fell by 136.88 points, or 1.23 percent, to finish at 11,005.64.

The STI Index in Singapore also saw losses, falling by 21.00 points, or 0.65 percent, to end at 3,208.55.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia increased slightly, rising by 4.80 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 7,256.70, and the S&P BSE SENSEX in India climbed by 123.38 points, or 0.20 percent, to finish at 62,027.90. The NIFTY 50 in India closed at 18,314.80, up 17.80 points, or 0.10 percent.

The IDX COMPOSITE in Indonesia fell by 48.17 points, or 0.71 percent, to end at 6,707.76, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI in Malaysia dropped by 2.26 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 1,422.92.

The S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS in New Zealand increased by 51.08 points, or 0.43 percent, to end at 11,938.84, while the KOSPI Composite Index in South Korea fell by 15.58 points, or 0.63 percent, to close at 2,475.42. The TSEC-weighted index in Taiwan also saw a slight decline, dropping by 12.28 points, or 0.08 percent, to finish at 15,502.36.

Elsewhere, the S&P/TSX Composite index in Toronto closed at 20,419.62, up 2.01 points, or 0.01 percent. The Top 40 USD Net TRI Index in Johannesburg closed at 4,055.79, up 32.31 points or 0.80 percent.

In Brazil, the IBOVESPA closed at 108,423.47, up 167.07 points, or 0.15 percent. Meanwhile, the IPC Mexico closed down 39.51 points, or 0.07 percent, at 54,974.65. The S&P/CLX IPSA in Chile closed at 5,058.88, unchanged from the previous day’s close.

In Israel, the TA-125 closed at 1,811.23, up 16.65 points, or 0.93 percent, while the EGX 30 Price Return Index in Egypt closed down 224.00 points, or 1.28 percent, at 17,270.70.