The Dow dipped a third of a percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each ticked up marginally.

Friday also brought news of U.S. and British forces launching air strikes in Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. While markets have so far largely brushed off global conflicts, Joy Yang, Head of Product Management and Marketing at MarketVector Indexes, believes they're finally starting to weigh on stocks.

"We are seeing a lot of geopolitical tensions on the rise and we're waiting to see how this will escalate. I wouldn't discount what's going on in the Red Sea, in China, Taiwan, in the Middle East, in Russia, Ukraine. We're waiting to see how this will escalate in an election year, also. So I think a lot of people are just holding back a little bit to get some more news and information."

Data Friday showed U.S. producer prices unexpectedly fell in December. That was in contrast to a report a day earlier that showed consumer prices in December rose slightly.

In earnings news, shares of Bank of America fell 1% after its fourth-quarter profit shrank as the lender took $3.7 billion in one-off charges... while Wells Fargo dropped more than 3% after warning of a 7% to 9% drop in net interest income in 2024.

JPMorgan Chase edged about three-quarters of a percent lower after reporting its best ever annual profit and forecasting higher-than-expected interest income for 2024.

But Citigroup rose 1% after reporting a $1.8 billion fourth-quarter loss and saying it was planning another 20,000 job cuts as it looks to restructure the business.

UnitedHealth dragged down the Dow, its shares dropping more than 3% after the company reported higher-than-expected medical costs.

Delta Air Lines tumbled 9% after the carrier scaled down its annual profit outlook.

And Tesla lost more than 3.5% after trimming prices of some new China models and suspending most car production in its factory near Berlin due to supply chain problems caused by the Red Sea conflict.