Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

NYSE

The S&P 500 rose slightly on Friday but was still on pace for a losing week as traders digested the latest comments made by President Donald Trump related to the Federal Reserve and geopolitics.

The broad market index was last up 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded just above the flatline. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2% as well.

The three major averages hit their session lows after Trump delivered remarks in the White House Friday, in which he said he'd rather have National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett stay in his current role and might not be chosen to become the next Fed chair.

"I see Kevin's in the audience, and I just want to thank you. You ⁠were fantastic on television today," Trump said. "I actually want to keep you where you are, if you want to know the truth."

Hassett had been seen as a frontrunner to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May, but prediction markets showed former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh moved ahead in the race following the president's remarks. Traders see Hassett as the more market-friendly option to replace Powell, with Wall Street expecting him to be more willing than Warsh to keep rates low.

The major averages are coming off a winning session thanks to gains in chip stocks. Taiwan Semiconductor led the advance after a blowout fourth-quarter report. Further, the U.S. and Taiwan reached a trade agreement in which Taiwanese chip and tech companies will invest at least $250 billion in production capacity in America.

Taiwan Semi and other chip stocks like Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices were higher Friday, offering support to the broader market.

Investors are preparing to close out a hectic week. They've been grappling with a slate of headlines out of Washington, running the gamut from worries over threats to the Fed's independence to heightened geopolitical risk in Iran and Greenland. Geopolitical risk was exacerbated Friday after Trump said he might impose tariffs on countries "if they don't go along with Greenland."

For the week, the S&P 500 was headed for a 0.2% fall, while the 30-stock Dow was tracking for a 0.1% drop. The Nasdaq was down 0.4% on the week.

Bank stocks were weak in the weekly period despite strong earnings as concerns around Trump's call for a cap on on credit card interest rates persisted. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America were among the laggards, falling more than 4% and more than 5% week to date, respectively.