NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks finished a rollercoaster week on a positive note on Friday, rallying after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell sketched out a moderate course on monetary policy.

Mr Powell told a central banker summit in Wyoming that the Fed was prepared to raise interest rates again, but would proceed “carefully” going forward.

“There is always fear before he talks,” said Ms Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Advisors, who described the speech as without bombshells.

But Ms Ogg said investors are “just going back and forth” about what comes next for the economy and whether there will be a recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.7 per cent at 34,346.90.

The broad-based S&P 500 also gained 0.7 per cent to 4,405.71, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.9 per cent to 13,590.65.

Friday’s session amounted to a rebound after indices tumbled on Thursday, following Wednesday’s gains.

Markets have been keeping a close focus on Treasury bond yields, also a signal on monetary policy. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note climbed further above 4 per cent on Friday.

Warner Bros. Discovery dropped 3.4 per cent as it pushed back the greatly anticipated release of sci-fi sequel Dune: Part Two until next year and postponed two other films amid the ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes.

Among companies reporting earnings, Gap shares rose 7.2 per cent and Workday gained 5.4 per cent, while Nordstrom fell 7.7 per cent. AFP