U.S. stocks end a volatile week with gains

You’re not the only one confused about where the economy is headed. Just look at the stock market, where perplexed investors have been sending stocks on a wild ride in August.

And there could be plenty more where that came from. Two notoriously volatile months for stocks lie just ahead.

Stocks around the world jumped Friday to cap another tumultuous week. Investors have been frantically trying to rejigger their predictions about whether President Donald Trump’s trade war and slowing economies around the world will drag the United States into a recession. In the U.S., the result was a week where the Dow Jones Industrial Average had four days where it rose or fell by more than 300 points — with an 800-point drop thrown into the mix.

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1.4 percent. The Dow climbed 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq picked up 1.7 percent. But each index still finished with a third straight weekly decline.

Don’t expect the volatility to go away anytime soon, analysts say. No one knows when Trump’s trade war will find a resolution. Nor whether all the uncertainty it’s created will push enough businesses and shoppers to hold off on spending and cause a recession. Some investors are digging in for trade tensions to last through the 2020 election.

“We’re also heading into a tough season for the market,” said Emily Roland, cochief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management. “September and October tend to be the most volatile of the year for markets. We’ve been talking to investors for that reason to look for areas to prune risk within a portfolio.”

Technology companies and banks did the most to drive Friday’s broad rally as investors regained some appetite for riskier holdings. Utilities, which have been one of the safer havens for investors this month, lagged the market.

The S&P 500 rose 41.08 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,888.68. The Dow, which had an 800-point drop earlier in the week, added 306.62 points, or 1.2 percent, to 25,886.01. The Nasdaq climbed 129.38 points, 1.7 percent, to 7,895.99.

Long-term bond yields also climbed Friday. The yield on 10-year Treasury rose to 1.56 percent from 1.52 percent late Thursday.

Benchmark crude oil rose 40 cents to settle at $54.87 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 41 cents to close at $58.64 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.66 per gallon. Natural gas fell 3 cents to $2.20 per 1,000 cubic feet.