NEW YORK — 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 Chair Janet Yellen said that the policymakers likely would 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 Friday pushed stocks to their third losing week in the past four.
“This is a dangerous market that is still looking for direction,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer at investment management firm First American Trust. “Although the U.S. is continuing to improve, outside the U.S., it’s just scary.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.9 points, or less than 0.1 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 percent, to 4,686.50.
The S&P 500 closed down 1.4 percent for the week; the Dow was 0.4 percent lower.
Shares of drugmakers began their slide Monday when Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton pledged to stop “price gouging” in the industry.
The health care sector, a longtime favorite of investors, ended the week with its worst weekly performance in more than four years.
Biotechnology shares in the S&P 500 plunged during the week, pushing the overall health care index down 5.8 percent, its worst week since August 2011.
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.
