Investors look to good economic news

Associated Press

After a harrowing week for financial markets, investors will look for solid corporate earnings reports and healthy economic news over the next few weeks to calm things down.

This week, sharply higher bond yields, fears of faster rate hikes and the prospect of a long trade war between the United States and China prompted a two-day rout in the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,300 points on Wednesday and Thursday.

Even as the Dow regained almost 300 of those points Friday, some experts said investors’ concerns haven’t been resolved. But if fresh evidence emerges that the economy remains healthy and growing, and companies are still churning out robust profit gains, the stock market may eventually push aside those fears.

Major U.S. indexes ended the week down about 4 percent, their worst weekly loss in six months.

An index measuring the performance of small-company stocks had its worst week since early 2016.

Big technology and consumer-focused companies led the recovery Friday. Longtime favorites of many investors, they had plunged in the last few days.

Apple climbed 3.6 percent to $222.11 and Microsoft gained 3.5 percent to $109.57. Amazon jumped 4 percent to $1,788.41. Those are the three most valuable companies in the U.S., and they suffered startling declines the past few days: on Wednesday each took its biggest loss in more than two years.