Stocks rebound, finish week strong

U.S. stocks held onto gains to cap their best week in five years while Treasuries climbed and the dollar broke a five-day losing streak.

The S&P 500 was slightly higher at the close after a late-day slump as investors assessed the implications of new indictments related to Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The gauge ended 4.3 percent higher for the week ahead of a holiday weekend. The 10-year Treasury yield pulled back below 2.9 percent and the dollar rose from a three-year low.

The recovery in American equities has come quickly after the first correction in U.S. stocks in two years, and the S&P 500 is now down less than 5 percent from an all-time high reached Jan. 26. The Russia news distracted traders otherwise focused on the outlook for the credit markets and interest rates as economic growth accelerates and fans inflation.

“As far as corrections go, while we’re not out of the woods yet, it’s starting to feel like the best possible one you can hope for: Short and sweet,” said Craig Birk, an executive vice president of portfolio management at Personal Capital. “All the basic economic fundamentals and earnings results still seem very solid.”

Elsewhere, sterling slipped after U.K. retail sales missed estimates and gilts advanced. Crude oil reversed losses to trade near a one-week high. Bitcoin rose above $10,000.