Overall, S&P 500 companies are expected to report earnings growth of 3.8% for the last three months of 2012, according to S&P's Capital IQ.

Investors also monitored the ongoing troubles at Boeing, which has been in focus this week due to problems with its new 787 Dreamliners that prompted authorities around the world to ground the planes.

In international news, China's economy grew at a stronger-than-expected annual rate of 7.9% in the final three months of 2012. Asian stocks rallied on the news. The Nikkei surged nearly 3%, helped by a weaker yen.

European markets finished mixed. The FTSE 100 gained ground, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 finished lower.

Back in the U.S., the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell to 71.3 in January from 72.9 the previous month. Analysts were expecting a reading of 75.

The dollar gained versus the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil prices rose slightly, while gold prices slipped.

The price on the 10-year Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 1.84% from 1.88% late Thursday.