U.S. equities closed mixed on Friday, but managed another record close, while investors kept an eye on France's presidential election.

"Investors right now continue to shrug off almost all bearish news and continue buying stocks," said Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments. "Pullbacks now last hours; not days."

"Right now, we're in a state of unadulterated buying in the market," he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed just above breakeven, with UnitedHealth contributing the most losses and Boeing the most gains.

The S&P 500 closed 0.1 percent higher, with telecommunications outperforming. The telecommunications sector, which had been one of the worst performers for most of Friday's session, erased losses in afternoon trade. Reuters reported that Japan's SoftBank Group is prepared to give up control of Sprint to T-Mobile to clinch a merger of the two U.S. wireless carriers.

The Nasdaq composite outperformed, gaining 0.4 percent as the tech sector posted a 13-day winning streak. The indexes also posted weekly gains of more than 1 percent.

Dow, S&P and Nasdaq this week

Source: FactSet

Stocks traded mostly lower throughout Friday's session, as investors digested the market's recent gains.

"It's not a surprise to see the market pause here," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. "The question is whether this is the beginning of a pullback or just a pause."

The three major indexes had posted record closing highs five straight sessions before closing mixed Thursday. Lifting stocks were the prospects of President Donald Trump presenting a "phenomenal" tax plan soon, as well as solid economic data.





Trump held his first solo news conference Thursday, in which he berated the media and boasted about his accomplishments.

"If he doesn't straighten it out in the next, I would say, 30 days, people will just stop listening to him," said Maris Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors.

Data released Thursday pointed to improving economic conditions in the U.S., with the Philadelphia Federal Reserve manufacturing index hitting its highest level since 1984, while weekly jobless claims remained around their lowest levels in decades.

The only major economic data released Friday are leading indicators, which rose 0.6 percent in January.