US stocks close mixed after wavering on renewed geopolitical worries

U.S. stocks ended mixed after toggling in and out of negative territory Friday, as investors tried to digest fresh news on Ukraine and Russia.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50.67 points, or 0.30 percent, to 16,662.91. The S&P 500 shed 0.12 point, or 0. 01 percent, to 1,955.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 11.92 points, or 0.27 percent, to 4,464.93.
For the week, all the three indices closed in green territory as geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and Gaza had showed signs of ebbing most of the week. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq logged the biggest weekly gains in six, up 1.2 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. The Dow went up 0.7 percent.
The major indices initially ticked up and then dipped below flatline in late morning session on potential escalation of conflicts between Ukraine and Russia before fluctuating into the close.
Investors were spooked a little bit after news came out that Ukrainian artillery destroyed a significant part of a Russian armored column that crossed into Ukraine during the night, while Russia said no armored column entered eastern Ukraine.
The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered as Wall Street's fear gauge, added 5.88 percent to end at 13.15 on Friday.
A slew of economic data came out mixed in the day, failing to offer clear direction to the market.
U.S. wholesale prices rose in July in line with expectations, indicating that inflationary pressure remained benign. The Labor Department said Friday that the Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.1 percent in July on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Meanwhile, manufacturing activity in the New York region expanded at a slower pace in August, with the headline general business conditions index retreating 11 points to 14.7 in August after reaching a four-year high of 25.6 in July, said the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Analysts had expected the index to slip to 20.
U.S. industrial production climbed 0.4 percent in July, its sixth consecutive monthly gain, reported the Federal Reserve.
U.S. consumer sentiment slipped in August. A preliminary reading of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell to 79.2, the lowest level since last November, from the final July reading of 81.8.
In corporate news, Coca-Cola said Thursday that it will acquire an approximately 16.7 percent equity stake in Monster Beverage Corporation, in a deal that the former will make a net cash payment of 2.15 billion U.S. dollars to the latter. Coca-Cola's shares advanced 1.74 percent to 40.88 dollars apiece, while Monster's shares skyrocketed 30.48 percent to 93.49 dollars apiece.
In other markets, the dollar retreated against major currencies Friday amid reports of renewed Russia-Ukraine conflicts and mixed U.S. economic data.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.3397 dollars from 1.3367 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 102.35 Japanese yen, lower than 102.47 yen of the previous session.
Crude prices rebounded on reports of new conflicts between Ukraine and Russia. Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 1.77 dollars to settle at 97.35 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped under low inflation pressure from the United States.
The most active gold contract for December delivery dropped 9.5 dollars, or 0.72 percent, to settle at 1,306.2 dollars per ounce.