By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks hovered near the unchanged mark at the midpoint of the session on Friday, with the Dow and S&P 500 near record highs as investors assessed the impact of oil prices on the economy.
A stronger dollar and decline in gasoline prices affected a trio of economic reports on Friday as overall retail sales rose more than expected, while U.S. import prices fell in September by the most in more than two years.
In addition, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment for this month came in at 89.4, the highest since July 2007, buoyed by falling unemployment and gas prices.
"Oil prices moving lower would be a net benefit from most people's perspectives because it frees up so much potential disposable spending on the part of the U.S. consumer," said Peter Kenny, chief market strategist at Clearpool Group in New York.
"But there is a point where a downward draft in oil prices become a risk - we are at that fine line."
Brent crude was up 1.8 percent at $78.90 a barrel, bouncing from a four-year low, while U.S. crude advanced 1.2 percent to $75.09. [O/R]
While the Dow and S&P have continued to set record highs, recent gains have been modest, with the S&P 500 yet to post a gain of at least 1 percent this month. The benchmark index is on pace for a fourth straight weekly gain.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 14.19 points, or 0.08 percent, to 17,638.6, the S&P 500 gained 0.08 points, or 0 percent, to 2,039.41 and the Nasdaq Composite added 3.70 points, or 0.08 percent, to 4,683.84.
The S&P 500 is up 0.4 percent for the week and has rallied 9.5 percent from a six-month low in October, buoyed by supportive economic data and corporate earnings. For the year so far, it is up 10.3 percent.
Baker Hughes gained 1.4 percent to $59.56. The oilfield services company said it was in preliminary merger talks with larger rival Halliburton Co, rose 2.1 percent to $54.94.
Virgin America Inc, a low-cost airline partly owned by Richard Branson, soared in its market debut, underscoring the buoyant mood in an industry that is seeing relief from lower oil prices. Shares were last up 29.6 percent to $29.81.
Geron Corp surged 24.7 percent to $2.89 after it licensed its cancer compound to a Johnson & Johnson unit for up to $935 million.
(Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski)
