U.S. Stocks Post Steepest Weekly Loss In Two Months

U.S. stocks broke the four-day losing streak by closing slightly higher on Friday, but still posted the biggest weekly loss since the end of January. The main indexes, which were barely in the positive territory the entire session, rallied modestly in the last 15 minutes of trading after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen released her prepared remarks on monetary policy. Yellen said that gradual rate hikes are likely this year but stressed that the central bank would move cautiously. The S&P 500 closed 4.87 points, or 0.2%, higher at 2,061.02, but lost 2.2% over the week. The benchmark index inched into positive territory for the year after Friday's modest gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 34.43 points, or 0.2% at 17,712.66, but recorded a 2.3% decline over the past week. The Nasdaq Composite added 27.86 points, or 0.6%, to 4,891.22 by the end of the session. The tech-heavy index finished the week down 2.7%.