S&P 500 ends best week with quiet day, European shares edge up

Global stocks advanced on Friday, with a broad measure of US equities rising to an almost four-year high after news of subdued inflation added to investment sentiment and helped fuel a retreat in government debt markets.

US stocks mostly held near break-even for most of the session, with the S&P 500 Index staying above the 1,400 level it reached earlier in the week for the first time since May 2008.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 20.14 points, or 0.15 percent, at 13,232.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 1.57 points, or 0.11 percent, to 1,404.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.11 points, or 0.04 percent, at 3,055.26.

European stocks ended higher, climbing for the fourth straight day and hitting their highest level since before the market's slump in late July, as demand for the region's equities recovered while sovereign debt fears abated.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 0.4 percent higher at 1,106.79 points, posting a weekly gain of 2.5 percent.

Japan's Nikkei average ended up for the fourth straight day today as investors picked up cyclical shares on the brightening US economic outlook, offsetting profit-taking in exporters that have rallied in recent sessions on the softer yen.

The benchmark Nikkei added 0.06 percent to 10,129.83, gaining 2.1 percent on the week and logged its sixth straight week of gains.

The broader Topix advanced 0.4 percent to 866.73.