By Dan Strumpf
The S&P 500 turned lower in afternoon trading, led by
declines in health-care stocks, though the index remained on track
for strong weekly gains.
The benchmark fell a point, or 0.1%, to 1871, after rallying to
an intraday record of 1884 shortly after the market open.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 39 points, or 0.2%, to
16370.
The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 23 points, or 0.5%, to 4296,
pressured by falling shares of software maker Symantec.
Stocks gave back most of their gains in afternoon trading but
were still set to cap a positive, if volatile, week in which upbeat
economic data soothed investor concerns about a slowdown earlier
this year. Stocks have recovered their losses sustained on
Wednesday, when investors were spooked after Federal Reserve
Chairwoman Janet Yellen suggested the central bank may raise
interest rates sooner than expected.
"It has been a good week for the market," said Paul Zemsky,
chief investment officer for multi-asset strategies at ING
Investment Management. "Overall the economic data in the U.S. was
pretty good and went a long way to convincing traders that the
slowdown we saw [earlier in the year] was weather related."
The S&P 500 gained 0.6% on Thursday and 1.7% so far this
week.
An upbeat report on factory activity sent stocks climbing on
Thursday, offering investors additional assurances that weaker
reports earlier in the year reflected the harsh winter weather
rather than a true slowdown in growth.
"We're shaking off the deleterious effects of the weather and
the economy's starting to improve," said Phil Orlando, chief equity
strategist at Federated Investors, which manages about $400
billion. Mr. Orlando said he is favoring corners of the market that
benefit from a pickup in the economy, including consumer
discretionary, financial and technology stocks.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was lower at 2.758% from
2.775% late on Thursday.
Keith Bliss, senior vice president at brokerage Cuttone &
Co., said trading volumes were light on the final day of the week.
He said investors likely overreacted in selling off stocks so
steeply on Wednesday in the wake of Ms. Yellen's remarks. "I am
continually amazed at the knee-jerk reaction in the stock market
when someone says something like that," he said. "It is one data
point in thousands of data points."
Friday marks what traders refer to as "quadruple witching," the
simultaneous expiration of futures and options on indexes and
individual stocks. The phenomenon typically leads to a ramp-up in
volume during the final hour of trading, as investors and dealers
move to close out or roll over positions ahead of expiration.
Gold futures gained 0.6% to $1338 an ounce, snapping a four-day
losing streak, while crude-oil futures added 0.4% to $99.30 a
barrel.
The dollar lost some ground against the euro and the yen.
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% and was up 2% on the week after
slumping 4.7% over the previous two weeks. Germany's DAX 30 index
advanced 0.6%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.4%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100
added 0.4%.
Tensions over Ukraine continued to punish Russian markets. The
country's Micex index fell 1.5% in response to a second round of
U.S. sanctions. The index was still up 4.8% on the week but down
10% so far this month.
President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the U.S. would
impose a new round of sanctions on 20 Russians and on Bank Rossiya,
which was described by the U.S. Treasury Department as a personal
bank for senior Russian officials. The move freezes assets held in
U.S. institutions and bars Americans from doing business with those
on the list.
Fitch Ratings cut its outlook on Russia's sovereign debt, which
is currently rated two notches above junk status at triple-B, to
negative from stable. That followed a similar move by Standard
& Poor's on Thursday.
Asian markets rose, with China's Shanghai Composite running up
2.7% on expectations that fundraising regulations for property
developers will be loosened further. Japan's market was closed for
a holiday.
Utilities stocks, traditionally a defensive corner of the
market, led gainers in the S&P 500 index. Financial stocks also
rallied, with the S&P 500 Financial index up 0.3%, after the
Federal Reserve announced that 29 out of the nation's 30 biggest
banks passed "stress tests" designed to measure their ability to
withstand a severe economic downturn.
Zions Bancorp. fell 4.6%. The regional lender was the only one
of the 30 institutions surveyed that fell short of the Fed's stress
test.
The biotech sector was among the biggest losers Friday following
a congressional complaint about the high prices of Gilead Sciences
Inc.'s hepatitis C drug. Shares fell 3.9%.
Dow component Nike Inc. fell 4% after the sporting-gear company
said it expected next fiscal-year's earnings to rise less than
current projections, which overshadowed better-than-expected fiscal
third-quarter earnings and revenue.
Symantec slid 12.2% after the software company announced the
termination of Steve Bennett as its chief executive officer after
fewer than two years on the job. The company named board member
Michael Brown as the interim CEO. Symantec affirmed its fiscal
fourth-quarter earnings and revenue outlook.
Tiffany & Co. rose 2.5% as investors shrugged off the
high-end jewelry retailer's disappointing fourth-quarter earnings
report. The company also announced a new $300 million stock buyback
program.
Ann Inc. surged 14.1% after private-equity firm Golden Gate
Capital disclosed a 9.5% stake in the retailer, which operates Ann
Taylor and Loft branded stores.
Write to Dan Strumpf at daniel.strumpf@wsj.com