Wild week of trading leaves stocks mostly flat

U.S. stocks fluctuated as investors assessed the latest batch of corporate earnings and simmering geopolitical tensions ahead of the weekend. The dollar weakened and oil rose.

The S&P 500 Index traded mixed as it held near its average price of the past 200 days, a key technical level that’s served as bottom for recent sell-offs. The measure earlier powered to a gain of more than 1 percent on the strength of corporate results, but gave back the advance as investors grew concerned tariffs will increasingly dent profit margins. Honeywell warned as much during its conference call, dragging down shares in Boeing and Caterpillar.

The gyrations capped a wild week of trading that saw stocks put in their biggest rally since March only to tumble almost 1.5 percent two days later. The S&P 500 is virtually flat in the five days. Tech shares remained under pressure, with the Nasdaq indexes falling Friday on their way to a third straight weekly retreat.

A renewed rise in Treasury yields — the 10-year rate targeted 3.2 percent again — added to pressure on equities, though bank shares benefited. The dollar slumped versus major peers. Oil gave back some gains after Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said tensions between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. pose a geopolitical risk.

Markets rode a roller coaster this week as investors parsed a mixed bag of earnings to see whether the ongoing trade war and higher rates are eating away at profits. Reports that President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump would meet in November eased concerns early Friday, but they were soon ratcheted higher on worries about the potential impending impact of Chinese tariffs on U.S. companies. And still hanging in the background are tensions surrounding the disappearance of a prominent Saudi journalist, Brexit and the Italian budget drama.