US stocks close mostly lower; eke out gain for the week

The major U.S. stock indexes closed mostly lower Friday, capping a day spent wavering between small gains and losses.

Phone companies were the biggest drag on the market following reports that AT&T was considering a deal to acquire the media conglomerate Time Warner. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile US all fell.

Health care and energy stocks also took some losses, while consumer staples and tech...