U.S. stocks closed nearly flat Friday, as deal talks and earnings results held the market steady. In international economic news, traders digested comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Thursday, who denied reports that the bank's stimulus program could end abruptly. In corporate news, General Electric fell 0.5 percent as its oil and gas business continued to weigh on revenue growth in the most recent quarter. Microsoft shares surged 4.5 percent, hovering around their record closing level of $59.56 hit during the dot-com boom in 1999, after the company beat forecasts for both sales and profit Thursday. The dollar continued its rally against a basket of currencies. Light sweet crude oil for December delivery stayed flat at $50.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures added 10 cents to $1,267.80. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 8.76, or 0.05 percent, to 18,153.59. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 0.62, or 0.03 percent, to 2,140.72. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 15.57, or 0.30 percent, to 5,257.40.