NEW YORK 鈥� Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street, breaking a three-week losing streak. The benchmark S&P 500 index rose 1.5% on Friday, but is still well below where it was in mid-August. Big gains for technology companies pushed the Nasdaq composite even higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also climbed, as did small-company stocks. All 11 industry sectors of the S&P 500 rose, including energy stocks, which caught a break from recent declines thanks to an upturn in oil prices. DocuSign rose sharply after the electronic signature company reported strong second-quarter sales and raised its subscription forecast.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP鈥檚 earlier story follows below.
Stocks are broadly higher on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday, keeping the market on track to break a three-week losing streak.
The S&P 500 rose 1.7% as of 3:32 p.m. Eastern and is up 3.8% for the week, on pace for its biggest gain in seven weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 422 points, or 1.3%, to 32,194 and the Nasdaq rose 2.2%. Each index is on track for its first weekly gain in four weeks.
Technology stocks and retailers had some of the biggest gains. Microsoft rose 2.3% and Amazon rose 2.6%.
DocuSign jumped 10.7% after the electronic signature company reported strong second-quarter sales and raised its subscription forecast.
All 11 industry sectors in the benchmark S&P 500 rose, though makers of household goods and utilities, which are typically considered less risky investments, lagged the market. U.S. crude oil prices rose 3.9%, helping push up energy sector stocks. Exxon Mobil rose 2.1%.
Smaller company stocks also notches solid gains, pushing the Russell 2000 index 2% higher.
Bond yields were mixed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on and other loans, held steady at 3.33%. The two-year Treasury yield, which tends to track expectations for actions by the Federal Reserve, rose to 3.57% from 3.51%.
The Fed has been the main focus for investors as they try to figure out whether the central bank's plan to cool the hottest inflation in four decades will work or possibly trip an already slowing economy into a recession. Stocks spent July and part of August gaining ground on hopes that the Fed would ease up on its interest rate hikes, but slumped over the last few weeks as it became clear the central bank remained resolute in raising rates.
The central bank has already raised rates four times this year and markets expect it to deliver another jumbo-sized increase of three-quarters of a percentage point at its next meeting in two weeks. Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, have all the central bank's determination in raising rates until inflation is under control.
That has left investors closely watching economic data for any sign that inflation might be cooling. The calendar for such updates will be busy next week.
The Labor Department will release its report on consumer prices for August on Tuesday and a report on wholesale prices on Wednesday. On Thursday, Wall Street will get an update on retail sales for August.
Damian J. Troise And Alex Veiga, The Associated Press
