Drugmaker sell-off reverses stocks’ gains

A late slump in health care stocks pushed the market to its third weekly loss this month.

Stocks had traded solidly higher for most of the day, as banks, insurance companies and brokerage firms climbed after Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen said that the policymakers would likely raise interest rates this year. The market gave up most of its gains in the afternoon as a sell-off in drugmakers led the health care sector lower.

The stock market has been volatile for the past six weeks on worries about the impact of slowing growth in China and other emerging markets, as well as uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates. The late sell-off on Friday pushed stocks to their third losing week in the last four.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.9 points, or 0.05 percent, to 1,931.34. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 113.35 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,314.67. The Nasdaq composite fell 47.98 points, or 1.01 percent, to 4,686.50.

The S&P 500 closed down 1.4 percent for the week, and the Dow was 0.4 percent lower.

The market had started the day with solid gains as investors were encouraged by a report that showed U.S. economic growth was faster in the spring than previously estimated.

The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.9 percent in the April-June quarter, up from a previous estimate of 3.7 percent, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The strength came from gains in consumer spending, business investment and residential construction.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Drugmaker sell-off reverses stocks’ gains."