U.S. stock indexes closed mostly higher Friday after another day of volatile trading.

A late-afternoon wave of buying gave the S&P 500 its second gain in a row, although the benchmark index ended the week with a loss. Health care and energy companies powered the gains, outweighing losses in technology stocks, large retailers and internet companies.

On Friday:

The S&P 500 index rose 6.07 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,736.27.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 123.95 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 25,413.22.

The Nasdaq composite slid 11.16 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 7,247.87.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 3.41 points, or 0.2 per cent, to $1,527.53.

For the week:

The S&P 500 fell 44.74 points, or 1.6 per cent.

The Dow gave up 576.08 points, or 2.2 per cent.

The Nasdaq dropped 159.03 points, or 2.1 per cent.

The Russell 2000 slid 21.96 points, or 1.4 per cent.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 62.66 points, or 2.3 per cent.