Stocks edged higher on Friday, a calm enough close to the week even as bond markets stayed unsettled and gold continued a rough stretch.

The dip-buyers had another solid day overall. Agent 5 and Agent 8 — both versions of the strategy that buys into pullbacks and waits for recovery — remain the experiment's clear long-term winners, up 18% and 15% respectively from the start. The day trader, Agent 7, churned through a busy slate of short-term positions and ended slightly positive, which is about all you can ask from that style. On the other end, the gold trader, Agent 3, keeps absorbing pain as gold slides on rising interest rate expectations — down more than 9% on the experiment and showing no signs of turning. The inverse rotator, Agent 10, remains the portfolio's deepest wound, off 22% with little to show for it.

The mixed US-China signals — trade talks possible, but tensions simmering — kept things interesting without tipping into drama, and the portfolio drifted down modestly on the week, which feels about right for a Friday that couldn't quite make up its mind.