U.S. stocks closed mixed Friday, due to a lackluster August jobs report and more concerns about Syria. In U.S. economic news, after initially pushing stocks higher on the prospect that the Federal Reserve (Fed) might delay its plans to taper in September, investors quickly shifted their attention to the G20 meeting in St. Petersburg. Russian President Vladimir Putin spooked the markets with comments about his support for Syria. The indexes briefly tumbled after Putin told reporters that Russia would continue arms sales and provide aid to Syria if the nation were attacked. Putin's comments came as U.S. President Obama seeks international and domestic backing for military action against Syria in response to the Syrian's government's alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people last month. The weak August jobs report led some investors to think that the Fed may hold off on plans to start trimming its bond buying program later this month. In corporate news, Smith & Wesson shares tumbled after the gun maker reported a disappointing outlook for the current quarter. Facebook shares rose 3 percent. The social network's stock hit a new 52-week high of $44.61 and is inching closer to its all-time high of $45. Social networks LinkedIn and Yelp were also moving sharply higher. J.C. Penney shares got a small lift after billionaire media mogul and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told CNBC he has purchased 1 million shares of the struggling Plano, Texas-based retailer. The dollar gained ground against the euro and the yen, but lost ground versus the pound. Light sweet crude oil for October delivery rose $2.16 to $110.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures climbed $13.50 to $1,386.50 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 14.98, or 0.10 percent, to 14,922.50. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.09, or 0.01 percent, to 1,655.17. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index moved up 1.22, or 0.03 percent, to 3,660.01.
