Late slide leaves indexes mixed

Burst of selling nearly erases S& P 500 gains.

NEW YORK — Wall Street closed out a choppy week of trading with more of the same Friday, as a late- afternoon stumble led U. S. stock indexes to a mixed finish.

The S& P 500 ended the day just a fraction of a point higher after a burst of selling nearly erased a 0.9% gain. Despite a three- day stretch of losses, the benchmark index still managed to finish higher for the week, its third straight weekly gain.

Big Tech and energy companies fell while health care and industrial stocks rose.

The market’s late- day fade capped a week of volatility for stocks as companies began reporting their third- quarter results and traders’ hopes for a new round of economic stimulus from Washington dimmed.

“The market is sort of bouncing around here,” said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager with Globalt Investments. “We’ve had a lot of noise lately and that’s probably what we’re going to have over the next couple of weeks.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to finish ahead by 0.4% but had been up by 348 points. The Nasdaq fell 0.4% for its fourth straight losing day. The Russell 2000 index of small- cap stocks dropped 0.3%.

Despite the market’s downbeat finish, the major stock indexes have already recouped most of their losses from September’s market swoon.

Investors have been hoping that Washington would provide more financial support for the economy since July, when a $ 600- a- week extra benefit for the unemployed expired.

Traders have been watching economic data closely to see whether the loss of that beefed- up unemployment aid would lead to an overall pullback in spending.

Friday’s retail sales report provides some encouragement, suggesting Americans’ appetite for spending remained solid last month.