US stocks narrowly fluctuate as Portugal bank worries ease

U.S. stocks fluctuated in a narrow range Friday, following Thursday's slip, as market fret over a leading Portuguese lender waned somewhat.
In midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 30.09 points, or 0.18 percent, to 16,884.98. The S&P 500 fell 2.90 points, or 0. 15 percent, to 1,961.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 3.82 points, or 0.09 percent, to 4,400.03.
Shrugging off Thursday's negative sentiment stemming from delayed payment on short-term debt by Portugal's major bank Banco Espirito Santo, European stocks closed in positive territory Friday as the Portuguese government calmed investors by emphasizing the country's financial system was sound.
The U.S. stock market gave little reaction to the latest development in the euro zone, as investors turned their focus to Wells Fargo's second-quarter results released before the opening bell which kicked off closely-watched banking earnings in the second quarter.
Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, reported a net income of 5.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 1.01 dollars per diluted common share, on revenue of 21.1 billion dollars for the second quarter of 2014.
The bank's quarterly revenue topped market expectations and per- share earnings met forecast. Its shares, however, fell 0.87 percent to trade at 51.36 dollars in midday, as investors remained cautious ahead of a slew of earnings reports from other lending U. S. banks next week.
The three major stock indices are on track to wrap up the week with losses after the Dow settled above the 17,000 market for the first time last week.