Nazz Finishes Up as Palm Rises

The University of Michigan gave some reason to believe consumers are feeling more comfortable, however. Its consumer sentiment index rose to 70.8 in June, an improvement over its preliminary estimate of 69 and also the 68.7 reading in May.

The Russell indices were rebalanced Friday. Their reconstitution is typically one of the heaviest trading days in the U.S. equity market as asset managers try to reconfigure their portfolios to reflect the indices.

Total volume on the Nasdaq was near 3.9 billion at the close on Friday, not including heavy after-hours trading, but would likely go higher with the final tally. That's well above the average year-to-date daily volume of 2.3 billion. More than 1 billion shares crossed over at the close Friday as fund managers trying to mimic the index rushed to get trades in at the closing prices, said says Anu Sharma, managing director of the Nasdaq OMX Market Intelligence Desk.

Aside from the activity around the rebalancing, the market is ripe with confusion, and that has helped lead to a sustained trading range, said Anu Sharma, managing director of the Nasdaq OMX Market Intelligence Desk. "You have this big debate of inflation vs. deflation, and I don't think money managers are really sure of which side to believe," he says. "At this point you have two valid arguments, and when there's that much uncertainty, the best thing to do is sit tight."

Banks made a few headlines Friday. Among them, Citigroup (C Quote) has run afoul of Japanese regulatory authorities. For the second time in the last decade, the bank has been ordered to suspend sales activities at its retail businesses -- from July 15 to Aug. 14 -- as it faces accusations of not doing enough to prevent money laundering. Shares closed unchanged at $3.03.