Investors were in a laid-back mood at the end of what's been a stellar week for the stock market. The Cboe Volatility Index, a widely-followed fear gauge that trades under the ticker VIX, fell 0.6% to 17.

Stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street, holding on to most of the gains they made earlier in the week after the U.S. and China declared a temporary ceasefire in their trade war.

Wall Street is heading toward the finish of a strong, potentially perfect week as U.S. stocks on Friday drift close to the all-time high they set just a few months earlier, though it may feel like an economic era ago.