In a half-day trading session on Friday, stocks in the U.S. closed with a mixed finish. The S&P 500 inched up 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%. Conversely, the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. Overall, the S&P 500 added 2.72 points to reach 4,559.34, the Dow rose 117.12 points to 35,390.15, and the Nasdaq fell 15 points to 14,250.85. The holiday-shortened week marked the fourth consecutive winning week for the major indexes.

Trading was relatively subdued as markets reopened following the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Gains in the health care, financial, and energy sectors helped to offset losses in technology and communication services stocks. Chipmaker Nvidia and Google parent Alphabet were among the biggest decliners, losing 1.9% and 1.3% respectively. On the other hand, CF Industries rose 2.6%, and Best Buy closed 2.2% higher.

The recent weekly gains of the major stock indexes reflect a change in market sentiment in November following a three-month decline. Traders have grown cautiously optimistic that inflation has cooled enough for the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates. Forecasts for a potential recession have been pushed further into 2024 and have been softened. The rate of inflation continues to ease, consumer spending remains solid, and the economy is generally doing well. This has encouraged hopes and bets that the Federal Reserve might even consider cutting rates. However, Fed officials have stated that the economic outlook remains uncertain, and their decisions on rates will be based on incoming reports.

In the bond market, Treasury yields rose broadly on Friday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other loans, increased to 4.47% from 4.41% late Wednesday. Meanwhile, oil prices continued to decline, with U.S. crude sliding 2%. The decrease in oil prices has sparked concerns about a potential imbalance between crude supply and demand.

Investors are closely watching U.S. retailers as the holiday shopping season kicks off with Black Friday. There are growing concerns that spending may slow due to dwindling savings, rising credit card debt, and inflation. The latest quarterly results from retailers, including Walmart, Best Buy, and Saks Fifth Avenue, suggest a weakening of consumer appetites for spending, despite easing inflation and robust employment.

In other global markets, shares were mostly higher in Europe. Germany's DAX edged up 0.2%, the CAC 40 in Paris also edged up 0.2%, and Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.1%. Asian markets ended with mixed results. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% after Japan reported a rise in consumer inflation for the first time in four months. The consumer price index increased by 3.3% in October from a year earlier, up from 3% in September. This goes against the Bank of Japan's forecasts for a decrease in price pressures by the end of the year. Chinese shares fell back after recent gains driven by expectations of more government support for debt-burdened property developers. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 2%, and the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7%. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi declined 0.7%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2%.

Overall, global markets remain uncertain and are closely watching central bank decisions and economic reports for further guidance.