Erratic week finishes upbeat

Banks, cruise lines, airlines power strong rally on Wall Street.

NEW YORK — Optimism returned to Wall Street on Friday, and stocks rallied to cap a shaky week dogged by worries that rising coronavirus counts may halt the economy’s recent upswing.

The S&P 500 climbed 1%, and the biggest gains came from cruise ship operators, airlines, banks and other companies that most need the economy to continue to reopen and strengthen. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4% and the Nasdaq composite added 0.7% to reach a new high of 10,617.44.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks rose more than the rest of the market, up 1.7%.

Cruise operator Carnival jumped 10.8%, Royal Caribbean Cruises gained 9.9% and United Airlines rose 8.3%.

Banks were also particularly strong, and financial stocks in the S&P 500 climbed 3.5% for the biggest gain among the 11 sectors in the index. A stronger economy would mean their borrowers are better able to repay their loans. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America both rose 5.5%, while Citigroup jumped 6.5%.

Treasury yields erased their declines to drive higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which tends to move with investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation, rose to 0.64% from 0.60% late Thursday.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 93 cents to settle at $40.55 per barrel. Brent crude added 89 cents to $43.24 per barrel.

Lagging behind the rest of the market were some of the stocks that have been holding up best this year: big tech-oriented giants. Microsoft dipped 0.3%, and Apple edged up 0.2%.

It’s at least a pause for such stocks, which have climbed through the pandemic this year as investors bet they’ll keep growing almost regardless of the economy’s strength.