Stocks snap 3-day losing streak in coaster week

Associated Press

Gains among technology companies helped snap a threeday losing streak for U.S. stocks Friday, though the market ended with its worst weekly loss since March.

The modest rebound came at the end of a turbulent week on Wall Street as escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea rattled global markets.

In the first four days of the week, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index swung from marking its latest record high to posting its biggest single-day drop in nearly three months.

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 3.11 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,441.32. The index had its biggest drop since mid-May a day earlier. The Dow Jones industrials average gained 14.31 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,858.32. The Nasdaq added 39.68 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,256.56. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 1.69 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,374.23.

The recovery fit a recent pattern of investors using dips to put more money in stocks.

Despite the past week’s decline, the major indexes are in positive territory so far this year, led by the Nasdaq, which is up 16.2 percent. The S&P 500 is up 9 percent, while the Dow is up 10.6 percent.

Tensions between the U.S. and North Korea continued to simmer early Friday. In a tweet, President Donald Trump warned of military action “should North Korea act unwisely,” noting that the U.S. is “locked and loaded.”

North Korea had announced a detailed plan to launch a salvo of ballistic missiles toward the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, a major military hub and home to U.S. bombers.

Technology companies, which suffered the brunt of the selling a day earlier, were back in the lead Friday. Lam Research Corp. climbed $4.82, or 3.2 percent, to $154.26.

Seagate Technology gained 2.3 percent after investor ValueAct disclosed that it had acquired a 7.2 percent stake in the digital storage company. Seagate shares rose 74 cents to $32.29.

Traders sold off financial stocks amid speculation that the Fed will decide to hold off on raising interest rates next month. Higher interest rates can help boost banks’ revenue from loans. Regions Financial shed 23 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $14.07.