"US Stocks Tread Water on Shortened Trading Day, Indexes Little Changed in Black Friday Trading"

US stocks had a mixed performance on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly up, the S&P 500 unchanged, and the Nasdaq composite lagging. Retailers are closely watched as Black Friday marks the start of the holiday shopping season, with big box chains warning of cautious consumer spending. Discord within OPEC+ kept crude prices in check as the group delayed its meeting due to a dispute over quotas. Brent crude futures remained flat above $81 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell around 1% above $76 per barrel. Nvidia's stock was in focus as the company delayed the launch of an AI chip in China to comply with US export curbs.