U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor?s 500 Index paring a weekly loss, as Gilead Sciences Inc. and Expedia Inc. rallied after Thursday?s selloff in biotechnology and small-cap shares.
The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rebounded 2.9 percent from a 3.1 percent drop yesterday. Gilead added 4.5 percent as first-quarter profit exceeded projections. Expedia Inc. climbed 7.9 percent, amid quarterly revenue that exceeded estimates, and paced consumer shares as they erased their Thursday decline. LinkedIn Corp. tumbled 19 percent after trimming its annual sales forecast.
The S&P 500 gained 1.1 percent to 2,108.29 at 4 p.m. in New York, after falling 1 percent Thursday. The index jumped above its average price for the past 50 days. The Russell 2000 rose 0.7 percent after tumbling 2.2 percent yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 183.54 points, or 1 percent, to 18,024.06 and nearly wiped out yesterday?s retreat.
?This week felt like an unwinding of a lot of big trading positions that had been on for months and that had been extremely successful,? said David Heidel, a regional investment director for the private client reserve of U.S. Bank, which oversees about $128 billion of assets. ?This is a rebound from the tough days we had earlier this week. People are taking a look at potential bargains.?
The benchmark index dropped 0.4 percent this week as the Federal Reserve left open the possibility of raising rates in 2015 even after data showed the economy barely grew in the first quarter.
Economic Data
Wednesday?s growth report was among a string of weak numbers stoking concern about the strength of the recovery, as the Fed looks set for its first rate increase since 2006.
A report today showed manufacturing in April held at the weakest pace in almost two years, while a separate report said consumer confidence increased in April to the second-highest level in more than eight years as Americans grew more upbeat about their financial prospects.
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