Stocks climbed as dip buyers appeared after the market slide, tempering a cloudy outlook for a U.S. stimulus package.

Technology companies led gains in the S&P 500 while the Nasdaq 100 jumped 2.3 per cent. Real-estate, industrial and consumer-discretionary also rose. Boeing surged on a news report the top U.S. aviation regulator plans to test-fly the grounded 737 Max on Wednesday. Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises rallied after being upgraded at Barclays, which said the “worst is in the past” for cruise companies. The benchmark gauge still posted its fourth straight weekly drop -- the longest streak since August 2019. The dollar advanced.

Equities fell earlier Friday as a last-ditch attempt by Democrats and the White House to restart negotiations on new stimulus drew skepticism in Congress that a deal could be reached and written into law by the November election. There’s a perception that the two sides still remain far apart on the size of a relief package. Amid mounting signs that the pace of recovery will ebb with an uptick in global coronavirus cases and lack of further government aid, investors have once again turned back to the companies flush with cash and tested in times of crisis.

“If I were to be unsure about a stimulus package, unsure about whether there will be a vaccine, there’s no better thing than to hide out in the megacap tech stocks because they work in an economy-closed scenario,” Andrew Slimmon, senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 increased 1.6 per cent at 4 p.m. New York time.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 per cent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.4 per cent.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.3 per cent.
The euro dipped 0.4 per cent to US$1.1625.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.2 per cent to 105.61 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 0.65 per cent.
Britain’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 0.189 per cent.
Germany’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to -0.53 per cent.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.5 per cent to US$40.12 a barrel.
Gold depreciated 0.3 per cent to US$1,862.66 an ounce.
Silver weakened 1 per cent to US$22.91 per ounce.