S& P 500 turns positive for year

Another strong gain for stocks Friday extended the market’s recovery from a dismal start to the year to a fifth week in a row.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up for the year for the f irst time. The Dow Jones industrial average turned positive Thursday. Both had been down more than 10% for the year a little more than a month ago. The Nasdaq remains down 4% for the year.

Stocks had plunged early this year as investors feared that the Chinese economy, which has been the engine of global growth, was slowing faster than expected and that China’s slide would be enough to pull the U. S. economy into recession.

But over the course of the f ive- week rally, reports on hiring, manufacturing and construction spending showed that the U. S. economy is doing fairly well. Industrial, consumer and technology stocks benefited from the more positive outlook. Energy and materials stocks climbed as oil and precious metals prices rose.

And this week the Federal Reserve said it expects fewer interest rate increases this year. Lower rates make stocks look more attractive to investors, and they help boost economic growth by reducing borrowing costs and reducing the risk associated with starting or expanding businesses.

The biggest gainers Friday were healthcare stocks and banks, the worst- performing parts of the market this year. Companies that make aircraft, machinery and chemicals also rose as the dollar fell against other currencies; investors hope that the weaker dollar will boost those companies’ sales outside the U. S.

Healthcare stocks regained some ground after a rough week. Hospital operator Tenet Healthcare rose 5.9% to $ 28.14. Prescription drug distributor McKesson rose 4.4%, to $ 158.31. Drug f irms also ticked up after days of losses.

JPMorgan Chase said it would buy back $ 1.88 billion in stock, and Bank of America announced an $ 800- million stock repurchase. Both banks’ shares rose 2.9%.

Bond prices have also been rising in the wake of the Fed’s announcement, and the yield on the 10- year U. S. Treasury note slipped Friday to 1.87% from 1.90%.

The euro fell to $ 1.1268 from $ 1.1316. The dollar inched up to 111.60 yen from 111.50 yen.

Oil prices turned lower, though they remained sharply higher for the week. Benchmark U. S. crude fell 76 cents, or 1.9%, to $ 39.44 a barrel. Brent crude gave up 34 cents to close at $ 41.20. On Thursday U. S. crude closed above $ 40 a barrel for the first time since early December. The price of U. S. crude is up 50% since Feb. 11 on hopes that producers will cut output and relieve a global glut.

Gold fell $ 10.70 to $ 1,254.30 an ounce. Silver lost 22 cents, or 1.4%, to $ 15.81 an ounce. Copper slipped 1 cent to $ 2.28 a pound.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline fell 1 cent to $ 1.43 a gallon. Heating oil fell 2 cents to $ 1.24 a gallon. Natural gas fell 3 cents to $ 1.91 per 1,000 cubic feet.