Wall Street Wraps up Best Week of the Year as Recession Fears Fade

U.S. stocks ended higher Friday, extending their biggest weekly percentage gains of the year as worries of an economic downturn eased and investors focused on the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium next week.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched their seventh straight session of gains, as stocks recouped losses from a tailspin two weeks ago. The sell-off, sparked by weak economic data and heightened recession fears, confirmed the Nasdaq had entered correction territory.

All three indexes recorded their biggest weekly percentage gains in months, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posting their first weekly gain in five.

"What were seeing in today's markets is an extension of the comeback and the calming of earlier recession fears," said Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments in New York.

"The positive economic data is really what's fueling this rally, giving greater confidence to investors that are recession is likely to be avoided, and that the Fed will begin cutting rates in September."

A barrage of high profile economic data this week, including the Labor Department's consumer price index and a retail sales report from the Commerce Department, provided assurances that inflation continues meandering down toward the Federal Reserve's 2% target, and that consumer spending is healthy.

Data on Friday showed U.S. single-family housing starts dropped to a near 1-1/2-year low in July, while the University of Michigan's preliminary take on August consumer sentiment showed stronger-than-expected improvement.

Global central bank officials will speak at the symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, next week, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's keynote speech on Friday potentially setting expectations for a U.S. rate cut trajectory.

"All eyes are going to be laser-focused on Powell's comments next week," Bassuk said. "Market activity this year has consistently been based on the likelihood and extent of Fed rate cuts."

Chicago Fed chief Austan Goolsbee said in an interview with National Public Radio that central bank officials should be wary of maintaining restrictive policy longer than necessary.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 11.34 points, or 0.20%, to end at 5,554.56 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 37.31 points, or 0.21%, to 17,631.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 95.62 points, or 0.24%, to 40,658.68.

Shares of Applied Materials slid, reversing its surge after the chip-making equipment firm forecast stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue.

Amcor posted a bigger-than-anticipated decline in fourth-quarter sales. The packaging company's U.S.-listed shares dropped in the wake of the report.