Wall Street ends a wild and scary week nearly exactly where it began it. More tests loom next week

NEW YORK (AP) — After a manic week that began with Japanese stocks falling to their worst loss since 1987's Black Monday, only for U.S. stocks to soar later to their best day since 2022, slight gains on Friday carried Wall Street almost exactly back to where it began the week.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to shave what had been a brutal loss for the week down to a barely registerable 0.04%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 51 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

The gains pulled the S&P 500 back within 5.7% of its all-time high set last month, after it had sunk nearly 10% below during the week. It was a vicious return of volatility for a market that had been rising smoothly, and a measure of fear on Wall Street briefly surged toward its highest level since the 2020 COVID crash. It also may not be over. Worries are still high about the strength of the U.S. economy, and reports are due next week on inflation, sales at retailers and other measures of strength.

But on Friday, at least, the mood was one of calm after more big U.S. companies joined the pile reporting better profit for the spring than analysts expected.

Expedia Group jumped 10.2% after delivering stronger results than forecast, though it saw a softening of demand in July like some other companies. Take-Two Interactive rose 4.4% after the company behind the Grand Theft Auto and NBA 2K video games likewise reported better results than expected.

Earlier in the day, indexes rose for many other stock markets worldwide. They've also been frenetic since last week because of a number of factors slamming together at once. At the forefront is the value of the Japanese yen, whose sudden and sharp strengthening recently forced hedge funds and other traders to scramble out of a popular trade en masse.

They had been borrowing Japanese yen at very low cost and then investing it elsewhere around the world. But a hike to interest rates by the Bank of Japan forced many to abandon the trade at the same time and sent global markets reeling. A promise by a top Bank of Japan official in the middle of the week not to raise rates further as long as markets are “unstable” helped stabilize the yen.

Also weighing on the market have been worries about the slowing U.S. economy. A raft of weaker-than-expected reports forced questions about whether the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates at too high of an economy-crunching level for too long in order to beat inflation. A report last Friday showing much weaker hiring by U.S. employers than expected was the lowlight.

Such worries dragged Treasury yields lower in the bond market, and they fell again Friday. Yields sank as investors looked for safer places for their money and as expectations built for deeper cuts to rates coming from the Fed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.94% from 3.99% late Thursday.

After seemingly getting the Bank of Japan to stop hiking rates for now, Wall Street’s goal “now appears to be bossing the Fed into big rate cuts,” Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett said in a BofA Global Research report.

Reports next week could drive more swings for the market. On Thursday will come an update on how much shoppers are spending at U.S. retailers. Households at the lower end of the income spectrum have been struggling for a while to keep up with still-rising prices, but economists expect the report to show a return to growth after a stall in retail spending during June.

Another report on Thursday will show how many U.S. workers are applying for unemployment benefits. The most recent such report raised hopes for the economy after the prior week’s frightened investors.

Looming over them all will be the latest updates on inflation. A worst-case scenario would be if Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s inflation reports show higher-than-expected rises in prices at the wholesale and consumer levels, while the week’s other reports show a sharp weakening of the economy.

The Federal Reserve wouldn't have an easy way to fix such a toxic mess. The central bank could lower interest rates, which would give the U.S. economy an upward push but also threaten to worsen inflation. Or it could continue to keep its main interest rate at a two-decade high. That would put downward pressure on inflation but also inflict more pain on the economy.

To be sure, even though the U.S. economy is slowing, it is not in a recession. And many economists still see one as unlikely.

A third factor that sent markets spinning recently is increased skepticism about Wall Street’s rush into artificial-intelligence technology, and how much profit growth it will really produce.

The frenzy around AI allowed a handful of Big Tech stocks to drive the S&P 500 to dozens of all-time highs this year, even as high rates weighed on other areas of the market. But the group of stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” lost momentum last month amid criticism investors got carried away and took their prices too high.

All of the Magnificent Seven rose Friday except for Nvidia, which slipped 0.2%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 24.85 points to 5,344.16. The Dow gained 51.05 to 39,497.54, and the Nasdaq climbed 85.28 to 16,745.30.

AP Business Writer Matt Ott contributed.

FILE - People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 7, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

Specialist John O'Hara works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The monitor of specialist Anthony Matesic is seen through his glasses as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers was eager to get back on the field and feel a few firsts in his return from an Achilles injury that cut his first season with the New York Jets short after only four snaps.

The first throw, the first hit, the first touchdown in a new uniform.

There was also the first loss as Rodgers showed some flashes of his four-time MVP form in a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers but also a little bit of expected rust after such a long layoff.

“We expect greatness when we step on the field,” Rodgers said. “There were moments, moments that felt pretty good but not sustained. I felt like if we could just get a first down we’d be rolling. But we had those three and outs which hurt us. I think a lot of stuff is correctable.”

Rodgers showed signs of his old self, connecting on a well-placed back-shoulder throw to his new No. 1 receiver Garrett Wilson in the first half and hitting his old Green Bay teammate Allen Lazard on a 36-yard scoring strike in the third quarter.

But those were just a few flashes on a night when he didn’t look comfortable moving in the pocket in his first back from the serious injury and struggled to move the ball consistently for the Jets.

Rodgers finished 13 for 21 for 167 with the touchdown and one interception. He threw for fewer yards only 13 times in 218 previous starts when he played at least 35 snaps.

“I can play better," he said. “I missed a couple of throws. ... I felt overall I got the ball out pretty good but there were some opportunities I’d like to have back.”

Rodgers’ second game with the Jets lasted much longer than his first, which ended with a season-ending Achilles injury after just four snaps in 2023.

New York went three-and-out on the opening drive this game with two handoffs and a dropped pass by Lazard before a setback on the fourth snap that was temporary instead of season ending this time around. Rodgers’ first completion as a Jet was caught by Breece Hall, who had the ball punched out by Fred Warner for a lost fumble that set up a Niners field goal.

Rodgers got the Jets moving on the following drive, converting three third-down passes to Wilson to set up Hall’s 3-yard TD run. Rodgers went 6 for 7 for 61 yards on the drive.

“It was awesome man, it’s great,” Wilson said about having Rodgers back. “Having him in the huddle, we’re just going to get better. As far as seeing him out there healthy, staying healthy throughout the whole game, it was a good feeling.”

New York didn’t get another first down until early in the third quarter after the 49ers had taken a 23-7 lead. Two plays after Rodgers' 12-yard pass to Hall, Rodgers threw his first interception with New York. His pass to Wilson was deflected by Deommodore Lenoir into the hands of linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.

The Jets struggled to get in a rhythm as the Niners bottled up Hall and the running game and the defense couldn't make stops. New York ran just 37 offensive plays with Rodgers in the game before Tyrod Taylor took over on the final drive.

“We just didn’t see the field as much as we’d like,” coach Robert Saleh said. “I think our running game is going to be fine, but we only ran 49 plays today. We never got a chance to establish what we’re trying to establish.”

Rodgers provided his biggest highlight on his next drive when he took advantage of a free play when Leonard Floyd jumped offsides to throw his first TD pass in 610 days on the deep pass over the middle to Lazard.

It was Lazard who also caught Rodgers’ last TD pass in Green Bay in the final game of the 2022 season before he was traded to New York where he was supposed to fill the void of a franchise quarterback that Jets fans have been waiting a half-century for since Joe Namath left town.

The 40-year-old Rodgers spent his first 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, winning four MVPs and one Super Bowl. He was traded before the 2023 season to the quarterback-starved Jets. New York has gone through 15 starting QBs since last making the playoffs in 2010 with Mark Sanchez for the longest active postseason drought in the NFL.

But Rodgers' first season with New York ended almost as quickly as it started. He ran onto the field with an American flag as part of a pregame celebration.

Then on his opening drive against Buffalo, Rodgers threw one incompletion and was sacked by Leonard Floyd and injured the Achilles. Rodgers made an attempt to return late last season but was unable to pull it off, setting the stage for his return in his native California against San Francisco — the team that memorably skipped over drafting him No. 1 overall in 2005 to take Alex Smith instead.

“It’s been a while,” he said. “I felt great, a lot of gratitude just to be back in pads. So many people helped me get back to this spit so I’m really thankful.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, left, talks with New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, right, after an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) talks with San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams, center right, after an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) looks to pass the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) signals toward teammates during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers walks on the field during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, right, sits on the bench during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) passes the ball as San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Maliek Collins (99) applies pressure during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) pitches the ball to a running back as San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, right, runs toward the play during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers warms up before an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers warms up before an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)