Investing.com -- U.S. stocks capped one of their worst weeks since early-February with slight gains on Friday, as investors braced for a barrage of weak earnings from prominent banks next week at the start of first quarter earnings season.
The major indices closed relatively flat in Friday's session despite a 6% surge in crude futures prices, providing further signals of a decoupling between oil and equity markets. With the sharp gains, U.S. crude futures closed just below $40 a barrel, reaching their highest level in two weeks. Earlier in the first quarter of 2016, the two traded in virtual lockstep as a major upswing in oil prices triggered a rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Composite index.
On Friday, the Dow ticked up 35.00 or 0.20% to 17,576.96, while the NASDAQ Composite index gained 2.32 or 0.05% to 4,850.69, ending a difficult week moderately higher on the session. It came one day after U.S. stocks suffered one of their worst sessions in two months, as renewed fears of deflation in Japan created a spike in the yen fueling a sell-off in global equities. The S&P 500, meanwhile, inched up 5.69 or 0.28% to 2,047.60, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Energy and Basic Materials industry led, while stocks in the Health Care sector lagged. Buoyed by the considerable gains in oil, Energy stocks surged more than 2% on the session.
Since mid-March the S&P 500 has been virtually flat, following a 12% rally over the previous six weeks.
Shares in a host of banking stocks could tumble next week when JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) release their earnings from the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2016. The earnings are expected to be subdued, as net interest margins remain flat while Wall Street executives anticipate a period of "lower rates for longer" from the Federal Reserve.
For the year as a whole, the S&P SPDR Bank ETF (KDE) has fallen nearly 10%, while ranking among the worst-performing ETFs on the broader S&P.
The top performer on the Dow was Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which added 1.54 or 1.62% to 96.33, as oil futures rallied due primarily to further declines in U.S. rigs last week and increased speculation of an OPEC-Non OPEC production freeze at a closely-watched meeting on April 17 in Doha. Shares in Chevron (NYSE:CVX) are still down more than 13% over the last year. The worst performer was Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 0.88 or 1.46% to 59.42. Nike (NYSE:NKE) shares fell slightly on Friday after chief rival UA effectively issued a 2-for-1 stock split by offering Class C shares to existing shareholders.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LBTYA), which rose 0.90 or 2.37% to 38.88. Despite the strong gains, shares in the media company are still down more than 23% over the last 52 weeks. The worst performer was Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY), which fell 2.01 or 4.10% to 46.96. Shares in Bed, Bath & Beyond fell back on Friday after the popular merchandiser and home furnishing retailer declared its first-ever quarterly dividend earlier in the week.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which jumped 0.67 or 8.36% to 8.68. Energy stocks dominated the S&P 500 in Friday's session, as Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR), Anadarko Petroleum Corp (NYSE:APC) and Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) also surged by more than 5%. The worst performer was Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS), which plummeted 3.83 or 13.84% to 23.85. On Thursday after the bell, Gap reported disappointing same-store sales last month in the latest setback for the struggling retailer. For the month, comparable store sales at its Banana Republic segment plunged 14% while same-store revenues at Old Navy swung to a loss.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,327-757 margin.