Tech stocks help lead rebound

Technology shares that led the longest rout in U.S. stocks in almost two years bounced back Friday to power major indexes higher. A fourth straight day of Treasury gains sent banks tumbling to the lowest since November.

The S&P 500 pared the worst weekly drop since March with a gain that hovered near 0.7 percent in the final hour of a wild session, with trading 35 percent above average. The index all but erased a rally that reached 1.7 percent, only to bounce higher after JPMorgan analysts said that selling forced by computerdriven strategies had likely run its course. Volatility ruled, though, with the index making another run at wiping out the gain before resuming its march higher.

Technology buoyed all the major averages, with the Nasdaq 100 Index rising more than 2 percent just two days after its worst rout since 2011. Netflix Inc. ral- lied 5 percent amid an “opportunistic upgrade” from analysts at Citigroup Inc. Activision Blizzard drove gains in gaming shares after releasing a new version of “Call of Duty.” The 10-year Treasury yield fell a fourth day, to 3.14 percent. That weighed on banks even after mostly positive earnings reports from JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. The group is down almost 6 percent in the week.

The reasons for Friday’s rally were as varied as for the weeklong pounding. Trade data from China helped ease concerns about global growth, while signs emerged of relaxing trade tensions with the U.S. amid a planned meeting between the countries in November and the Treasury Department’s determination that China isn’t manipulating its currency. Relief that the bank earnings weren’t bad cooled anxiety that corporate profits might not live up to lofty expectations amid higher costs from the Trump tariffs.