U.S. blue chip stocks closed slightly lower Friday as regulatory worries weighed on drug makers, but the losses were muted in the face of positive profit reports from technology companies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 7.34 points, or 0.06%, to 11491.91.

American Express led the measure lower, falling 56 cents, or 1.3%, to $44.01, while Merck and Pfizer were among the Dow's biggest decliners.

Pharmaceutical stocks struggled after the Food and Drug Administration delayed approval of a blood thinning drug from European drug maker AstraZeneca, raising fears of greater hurdles in bringing new medications to market.

On Thursday, the regulator said it is recommending popular Roche Holding drug Avastin no longer be approved for treatment of breast cancer.

U.S. listed shares of AstraZeneca fell $2.85, or 5.8%, to $46.38.

For the week the Dow rose 0.7%, its third consecutive weekly gain.

Recent U.S. economic data have fueled hopes that the outlook is brightening gradually, though major market moves aren't expected later this month as many on Wall Street prepare for year end vacations and trading volume thins.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index edged up 1.04 points, or 0.08%, to 1243.91, led by material and utility stocks.

The broad index has registered gains in nine of the past 11 weeks.

The Nasdaq Composite added 5.66 points, or 0.21%, to 2642.97, boosted by a slew of better than expected earnings from technology companies.

Oracle climbed $1.19, or 3.9%, to $31.46, after the business software maker's fiscal second quarter earnings rose a better than expected 28% and predicted a significant jump in sales of some appliances in the next quarter.

Smartphone maker Research In Motion rose 96 cents, or 1.6%, to $60.20, after reporting record shipments of its BlackBerry smartphone in its fiscal third quarter.

European Markets

The banking sector led European markets to losses Friday as disappointment over the European Union's response to the debt crisis and a downgrade of Ireland's credit rating soured investors' mood.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.4% to 276.42 points.

On a weekly basis, the index was little changed, but it's up nearly 6% so far this month.

Among the major regional benchmarks, the French CAC 40 declined 0.5% to 3,867.35 and Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.6% to 6,982.45.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index slipped 0.2% to 5,871.75.

In Brussels, European leaders agreed to amend the EU treaty to enable the creation of a permanent stability mechanism.

However, there was little progress on the size of a future mechanism and other key details.

In Dublin, the ISEQ index fell 0.5%, as Moody's Investors Service slashed Ireland's sovereign rating by five notches to Baa1 from Aa2.

The move was in line with the agency's forecast last month of a multi notch downgrade that would see Ireland maintain an investment grade rating.

The volatile Irish banking sector posted losses.

Shares of Bank of Ireland tumbled 14% and Allied Irish Banks fell 1.1%.

Worries about Ireland were also behind sharp losses for some U.K. banks.

Shares of Lloyds dropped 3.6% and Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which has an even bigger exposure to Ireland, tumbled 5.7%.

Asian Markets

Asian equity markets ended mixed Friday, with Taiwanese shares climbing to a fresh 31 month high on continued fund inflows, while Chinese stocks remained sluggish on persistent concerns over further tightening measures from Beijing.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.1%, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.2%, South Korea's Kospi added 0.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Sang Index rose 0.2%, and Taiwan's main index rose 0.4% to 8,817.90 - its highest finish since May 2008.

Shares in China continued to be hobbled by worries that Beijing would launch further tightening measures to rein in rising inflation.

China United Network Communications fell 1%, Citic Securities Co. shed 0.5% and heavyweight PetroChina Co. lost 1.1%.

In Taipei, continued fund inflows fueled the market's rise, with technology heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing rising 2.4% and Chimei Innolux up 0.4% on news of its plans to build a new touch panel factory in China.

Japanese stocks ended modestly lower, with many investors treading cautiously on the view that the market may have run up too far.

Major banking stocks were higher, with Mizuho Financial Group up 2.0% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group up 1.2%.

Base Metals

Base metals closed mostly higher on the London Metals Exchange Friday, despite losing ground after overnight gains.

A strengthening greenback also failed to significantly dent the dollar denominated metals' performance.

Most gains were made overnight on the back of strong U.S. economic data and stock market performance, with prices declining in European trading.

After peaking at $9,175 a metric ton, the LME's three-month copper closed at $9,070 a metric ton, up 0.9% on the day.

Crude oil futures finished higher Friday, as signs of economic improvement helped boost the case for pricier oil.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery settled up 32 cents, or 0.4%, at $88.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Prices earlier fell as low as $87.01 in morning trading in New York.

Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled up 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $91.67 a barrel.

The index of leading economic indicators picked up strength in November, another sign of strength for the U.S. economy, according to the Conference Board.

The leading index increased 1.1% last month, the group said Friday.

Gold futures rose as worries about Irish debt mounted.

Thinly traded nearby gold, for December delivery, gained $8.20, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,378.60 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The most-actively traded contract, for February delivery, also gained 0.6%, to $1,379.20.

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