IBM had the biggest positive effect on the Dow this week, rising 3.5 percent, while DuPont was the biggest drag, falling nearly 3 percent.
The S&P 500 rose 3.09 points or 0.2 percent, to close at 1,283.35. The broad market index closed lower for the first time in eight weeks, shedding 9.89 points or 0.8 percent.
GE was the S&P 500's best performer, rising nearly 5 percent for the week, while Apple was the worst performer, falling about 6.25 percent.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 14.75 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 2,689.54. For the week, the Nasdaq declined 65.76 points, or 2.4 percent. It was the second weekly drop in nine weeks.
The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, rose above 18.
Among key S&P 500 sectors, industrials, financials and energy gained, while technology slid.
The dollar sank against a basket of currenciesas the euro gained, hitting a two-month high. Gold, meanwhile, closed lower for a third week, falling 1.43 percent to $1,341 an ounce.
The market's fall earlier in the week—when the S&P 500 closed 1 percent lower Tuesday—was just a "hiccup," due to the market hitting resistance levels, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners.
On Tuesday, the S&P closed at about 1,295, very close to a psychologically important top of 1,300. The Dow, meanwhile, got somewhat closer to 12,000.
But investors seem to be focused Friday more on the good news.
"I think it boils down to one thing: the earnings are coming in at levels that will be adjusted to higher PE ratios, so that’s a fundamental plus for the market," Cardillo said.
Most of the tech sector, however, was under water often in spite of very good earnings reports. The softness may have reflected January expirations of options contracts, and not the fundamentals of the stocks, analysts said.
Among the worst performers was AMD , despite the chipmaker's surprisingly strong resultsposted after the bell on Thursday. eBay also led tech stocks lower, despite the online auction company's upbeat earnings report earlier in the week.
Google, meanwhile, also traded lower despite reporting better-than-expected profits after the market closed Thursday. The search engine giant also stunned investors by announcing that Eric Schmidt will resign as CEO and that co-founder Larry Page, 37, will step into the position starting April 4.
Credit Suisse raised its price target for Google on Friday to $750 a share from $700, citing the results, and saying it doesn't expect the management changes to materially change the company's strategy.
Hewlett-Packard gained after news four board members were leaving and would be replaced by five new members, including former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.
While it wouldn't be a surprise to see a market correction at this point, Linda Duessel, equity market strategist at Federated Investors, said she remains bullish on the market's long-term prospects.
Duessel pointed to strength in the jobs number this week, as the four-week moving average fell to about 412,000. "Once the four-week average goes below 400,000, the market should love that," she said. "The trend is clear, the employment stats are improving."
She also pointed to rising auto sales, and said they should continue to surge as the economy improves and people trade out of older vehicles.
"Vehicle sales recently were good and without the help of a government program," Duessel said. "This is bullish."
Bank of America shares slumped after the financial giant said it was hit by writedowns on home loans, while trading revenue was also lower than expected. CEO Brian Moynihan told CNBC, however, that the bank's core businesses are gaining strength.
Regional banks SunTrust and BB&T both beat expectations, sending the shares of most regional banks higher.
KeyCorp,HuntingtonBancshares, Zions Bancorp, and Fifth Third were among the gainers. Major banks, including Citigroup, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan also rose.
GE shares jumped past its 52-week high after the diversified manufacturer reported a profit of 36 cents a share on revenue of $41.1 billion, both topping analysts' consensus forecasts. CNBC is art of NBC Universal, which is being sold to Comcast.
General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt will be in the spotlight separately on Friday when President Obama names him as head of new advisory panel charged with promoting economic growth by investments in business on Friday.
