US stocks close week higher as rate hike fears abate

NEW YORK: Technology and petroleum-linked shares were among the standouts Friday as US stocks rose solidly to finish a choppy week on a positive note.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.4 percent to close the week at 25,309.99.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.6 percent to 2,747.30, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.8 percent to 7,337.39.

Worries about US interest rates have hovered over the market since the strong February 2 jobs report raised the prospect that the Federal Reserve could accelerate its pace of rate increases.

But the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond, seen as a proxy for interest rates, pulled back Friday. That helped produce what was by the far the market's best trading day of the week.

And in its semi-annual report to Congress, the Fed appeared to tamp down concerns that higher wages would boost inflation.

"Investors are in a good mood ... and the Fed's report seemed to indicate that we may not need as many rate hikes as they once thought," Gorilla Trades strategist Ken Berman said in a note.

Large technology shares were strong, with Apple winning 1.7 percent, Microsoft rising 2.5 percent, Facebook 2.4 percent and Intel 4.2 percent.

Petroleum-linked shares were another strong performer as Dow members ExxonMobil and Chevron gained more than two percent.

Natural pet food company Blue Buffalo Pet Products soared 17.2 percent after agreeing to be acquired by General Mills for $8 billion. General Mills dropped 3.6 percent.

Nordstrom surged 6.5 percent following a report that it is close to a transaction to take the company private.