NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks opened flat Friday, after spending most of the week in the red as investors continued to keep a wary eye on negotiations in Washington over the fiscal cliff.
The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were off less than 0.1% from the previous day's closing levels.
A report in the Wall Street Journal provided a bit of optimism, but investors will continue to remain cautious ahead of a deal. The report said the Obama administration is considering a plan to replace massive spending cuts with a combination of smaller, targeted cuts and tax increases. By postponing the so-called sequester, lawmakers could put off a number of large deficit-reduction decisions until mid-2013.
The president is scheduled to meet with top Congressional leaders Friday to discuss the fiscal cliff. He has vowed not to keep the Bush tax cuts in place for Americans earning more than $200,000, and investors are also bracing for tax hikes on capital gains and carried interest.
Investors have been on edge since Election Day as they've been keeping tabs on the fiscal cliff debate closely. Since Obama's re-election last week, all three indexes have lost more than 5%. They're down more than 2% this week alone.
Earlier this week, Obama spoke with labor and business leaders about his priorities in the negotiations.
Minutes before the opening bell, a Federal Reserve report showed U.S. industrial production fell 0.4% in October. While the data fell short of economists' forecasts, it was likely impacted by Superstorm Sandy.
Investors will also mull the Federal Reserve's latest guidelines for bank stress tests, released Thursday evening.
U.S. stocks fell Thursday, in the third straight decline for all three major indexes.
Fear & Greed Index
In Europe, investors also have their attention on the fiscal cliff negotiations in the United States. European stocks were mixed in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.4%, the DAX in Germany fell 0.3% and France's CAC 40 rose slightly.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.8%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.2%, and Japan's Nikkei rose 2.2%.
Companies: Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) shares fell after the company announced disappointing third quarter results late Thursday, falling short of forecasts on both revenue and earnings. Income fell 47% over the same period last year, on weak PC sales. Rival Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) is set to report its latest earnings next Tuesday.
Gap (GPS, Fortune 500) shares rose after the retailer reported strong third quarter earnings late Thursday.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro but fell versus the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Crude oil for December delivery rose 85 cents to $86.30 a barrel.
Investors are closely watching violence in the Middle East. Israel launched a series of air strikes Wednesday on what it said were terrorist targets in Gaza, and the Palestinian group Hamas vowed retaliation.
Gold futures for December delivery were down $3.20 $1,710.60 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged higher, pushing the yield down to 1.58% from 1.59% late Thursday. 
First Published: November 16, 2012: 9:45 AM ET
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