(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Friday, after a turbulent start to the week marked by fears of a U.S. recession and the strength of the yen.

The Dow Jones index gained 0.16%, or 61.25 points, to 39,507.74 points.

The broader S&P 500 gained 28.06 points, or 0.53%, to 5,347.37.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 84.09 points (+0.50%) to 16,744.11 points.

Over the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.04%, the Nasdaq 0.18% and the Dow Jones 0.6%.

The technology sector led gains Friday, while the Cboe Volatility Index, Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” was down after jumping to 65.73 earlier in the week. “For most of last week, negative sentiment drove sentiment and direction, and that’s been offset by a little less pessimism in recent days,” said Michael James, of Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.

Uncertainty and anxiety, he added, “will continue to weigh on the market for the next month, until the next Fed meeting.”

Investors see a 55% chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 50 basis points at its next policy meeting on September 17-18. A 25 basis point cut is considered 45% likely, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Markets are awaiting new macroeconomic indicators next week. Consumer prices and retail sales in the United States should in particular revive the thesis of a soft landing for the American economy.

Fed officials said Thursday they were confident that inflation would slow enough to allow rate cuts, and they will rely on economic data to determine the size and timing of those cuts.

In stocks, video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software gained 4.35% after saying it expects net bookings to increase in fiscal 2026 and 2027.

Online travel agency Expedia jumped 10.21% after its second-quarter profit beat analysts’ expectations.

( Kate Entringer)

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