Financials up as tariffs loom

US stocks have ended little changed as financials rose with bond yields, while news that President Donald Trump instructed aides to proceed with tariffs on about $US200 billion of Chinese products produced limited gains.

The S&P financial index was up 0.7 per cent on Friday, leading percentage gains among sectors. US Treasury yields rose above 3 per cent earlier in the day but were last off those levels.

. A source familiar with the White House decision also said the timing for activating the additional tariffs was unclear as the rate-sensitive S&P utilities index fell 0.5 per cent

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 8.68 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 26,154.67.