The Nasdaq rose on Friday, boosted by positive broker comments on Microsoft Corp, while the S&P 500 and Dow were pressured by energy shares as the price of oil eased.

Markets were also buffeted by the end of the two-day quadruple witching period, the expiration and settlement of June stock and index futures and options, which can add volatility.

The Dow slid into negative territory, while the broader S&P 500 edged up as Exxon Mobil Corp fell nearly 1 percent to $70.78. Oil prices fell $1.00 to $70.37 a barrel on bets there would be ample fuel supply for the summer vacation season.

Microsoft jumped 2.6 percent to $24.11 after Goldman Sachs added shares of the world's largest software company to its Americas conviction buy list and said new products and an increase in information technology spending should underpin growth.

Four types of June futures and options contracts expire or settle on Friday, a quarterly event that tends to generate high volume as investors adjust or exercise their derivative positions. This can heighten volatility, though the CBOE Volatility Index <.VIX> was down 5.5 percent.

You would expect to see some intraday volatility, which may not be measured by the VIX, because most of the activity is in the June contracts which expire and settle today, said Joe Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at online brokerage firm thinkorswim Group in Chicago.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slipped 15.49 points, or 0.18 percent, to 8,540.11. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 1.61 points, or 0.18 percent, to 919.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 16.65 points, or 0.92 percent, to 1,824.37.

(Additional reporting by Doris Frankel; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

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