S&P 500 has best weekly gain since March

U.S. stock indexes ended mostly higher as the market closed out its biggest weekly gain since March.

U.S. stock indexes ended mostly higher Friday as the market closed out its biggest weekly gain since March.

Drug makers and other health companies climbed after investors sized up President Donald Trump’s latest plans to rein in drug prices and concluded any policy changes didn’t pose immediate threats to health care company profits.

“All of this will have to go through a year-plus regulatory process, and none of it will have immediate impact,” Terry Haines, macro research analyst at Evercore ISI, wrote in a research note Friday. “Thus our market positive view today.”

The health sector’s gains outweighed losses in technology stocks, phone companies and banks.

All told, the S&P 500 index added 4.65 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,727.72. The benchmark index had its best weekly gain since early March with an increase of 2.4 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 91.64 points, or 0.4 percent, to 24,831.17. The Nasdaq composite fell 2.09 points, or 0.03 percent, to 7,402.88. The Russell 2000 index of smallercompany stocks rose 3.08 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,606.79.

For the week, the Dow notched a gain of 2.3 percent, while the Nasdaq finished 2.7 percent higher. The Russell 2000 picked up a gain of 2.6 percent.

Trading was choppy for much of the day as investors waited for the Trump administration to release details of its plan to control drug prices. After Trump began discussing the broad goals of his plan Friday afternoon, health care sector stocks mostly moved higher.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals jumped 6.2 percent to $306.94 and CVS Health gained 3.2 percent to $64.41. Biogen added 3.1 percent to $282.39.

“Trump had a choice today: To seek disruptive fundamental reform or to embrace more incremental steps,” Haines wrote. “Trump chose the incremental over the disruptive, which is the decisive factor for markets today.”

Technology stocks, which are up 10.8 percent this year, outgaining all other sectors in the S&P 500, were among the biggest decliners Friday.

Symantec slumped 33.1 percent to $19.52 after the security software company revealed an internal investigation that could delay its annual report. The company also said the matter has been referred to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Symantec also gave weak profit forecasts.

Chipmaker Nvidia reported solid quarterly results, but shed some of its recent gains, sliding 2.2 percent to $254.53.

Investors continued to key in on the latest corporate earnings and outlooks.

Trade Desk vaulted 43.4 percent to $75.61 after the digital advertising platform company raised its annual forecasts after a strong first quarter.

Yelp fell 7.8 percent to $44.02 after the online review portal gave an outlook for its current quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations.

RICHARD DREW — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Trader Fred DeMarco, left, and specialist Anthony Rinaldi work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday.