Stocks drifted mostly lower on Wall Street and oil prices slipped ahead of planned U.S.-Iran talks following a shaky ceasefire agreement. The S&P 500 fell 0.1% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. Trading remained choppy ahead of high-level talks between negotiators from Iran and the U.S. planned for Saturday in Pakistan. The U.S. government reported a sharp spike in inflation in March because of the biggest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades, but the increase wasn't quite as bad as economists were expecting. Treasury yields rose in the bond market.

U.S. stocks rose, even though oil prices did too, as financial markets moved more modestly a day after surging on optimism about a ceasefire in the war with Iran. After beginning Thursday with moderate losses following drops for Asian and European stocks, the S&P 500 erased its dip and rose 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.8% after Israel’s prime minister authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon. That eased worries that the two-week ceasefire announced late Tuesday may already be in trouble. Oil prices pared some of their earlier gains but nevertheless remained higher.