There wasn't much new or exciting reported with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock on Friday, save for a fresh development in the legal sphere. Apple enthusiasts tend to get excited about the stock when the company announces a flashy new product or some positive financial news, not so much when the latest is about the law.

So while its latest settlement and resulting licensing deal didn't bring back a horde of bulls into the stock, it did give the company's stock a beat over the S&P 500 index. Apple closed the day only 0.3% lower, against the bellwether index's 0.7% decline.

Early Friday, storied electronics component maker Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) announced that it signed a global patent licensing and settlement agreement with Apple. At a stroke, this binds the two companies together in a renewed partnership and retires a dispute over 5G technology patents.

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Source Fool.com