Stocks higher after an up-and-down week

Major U.S. indexes closed mostly higher Friday, and several of them notched weekly gains, despite a recent run of daily swings on Wall Street as traders try to figure out what’s next for the economy.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.5 percent after spending the day veering between a gain of 0.6 percent and a 0.4 percent decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2 percent.

The indexes alternated nearly every day this week between gains and losses. Investors are trying to suss out what’s next for inflation and the global economy as the repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to play out.

The benchmark S&P 500 posted a 1.8 percent gain for the week. That follows a 6.2 percent rise last week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and Dow have also posted a weekly gain now the past two weeks.

Bond yields rose significantly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 2.48 percent from 2.34 percent late Thursday. Crude oil prices rose moderately after slipping earlier in the day.

“We’re still in this relatively neutral outlook right now, trying to digest what’s happening at the Federal Reserve, watching events in Russia-Ukraine and then getting ready for the firstquarter earnings season,” said Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

Banks and energy stocks accounted for a big share of the S&P 500’s gains. The rise in bond yields helped lift banks, which rely on higher yields to charge more lucrative interest on loans. Bank of America rose 1.5 percent.

Technology stocks fell and checked gains elsewhere in the market. Big technology companies have outsized values that tend to lend more weight in pushing the broader market higher or lower. Chipmaker Nvidia fell 1.6 percent.

The price for U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 1.4 percent to settle at $113.90 per barrel, while a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1.4 percent to $120.65. Prices are still up about 50 percent globally for the year. The pickup in oil prices helped lift energy stocks. Exxon Mobil gained 2.2 percent.

Oil prices have been volatile since Russia’s war against Ukraine began in February. Russia is the second-biggest crude exporter. Energy prices were already high, but the conflict has raised concerns about a worsening supply crunch that could maker persistently rising inflation even worse.