US stocks fluctuated on Friday, hovering near record highs as signs of strength in the economy provided the buoyancy that Netflix's (NFLX) earnings report lacked. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq trimmed early gains after the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey showed one-year inflation expectations plunging to 4.

Wall Street closed its third winning week in the last four with a quiet finish. The S&P 500 edged down by a whisper, less than 0.1 per cent, on Friday after setting its all-time high the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.