U.S. stocks ended a volatile week with modest gains for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on Friday, as strength in semiconductor and technology shares offset pressure from rising Treasury yields, elevated oil prices and broad weakness across much of the market. The S&P 500 added 12.74 points, or 0.17%, to finish at 7,650.50, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 104.25 points, or 0.39%, to 26,522.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 95.40 points, or 0.18%, to 51,682.64.

The subdued close followed several days of sharp swings driven by monetary policy, bond yields and energy markets. Investors spent the first half of the week preparing for the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, then adjusted portfolios after policymakers raised the federal funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4.00%. The Federal Reserve said economic activity continued to expand at a solid pace but that inflation remained elevated, making price stability the central justification for the increase.

The rate move quickly shifted attention to what could come next. Higher policy rates put upward pressure on borrowing costs and helped push Treasury yields toward levels that compete more directly with equities for investor capital. The 10-year Treasury yield finished Friday around 5%, while the two-year yield climbed to about 4.74%, according to market data reported during the session. Those levels are particularly important for growth companies because higher bond yields reduce the present value investors assign to earnings expected far in the future.

Technology nevertheless emerged as Friday’s strongest major S&P 500 sector. Semiconductor-related stocks helped the market reverse early losses, allowing the Nasdaq to outperform the Dow and the broader collection of economically sensitive shares. Applied Materials, KLA and other chip-related companies were among the stronger performers, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 also outpaced the major benchmarks.

The strength at the index level, however, concealed weaker market breadth. Declining stocks outnumbered advancing issues by roughly 1.8 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange. On the Nasdaq, 2,810 stocks fell while 1,973 advanced. The S&P 500 registered only five new 52-week highs against 30 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 45 new highs and 162 new lows. That divergence showed that a relatively narrow group of technology and growth shares was doing much of the work needed to keep the major indexes afloat.

The weekly figures reinforced that split. The S&P 500 finished about 0.1% lower for the week, while the Dow lost 1.7%, its steepest weekly decline since March. The Nasdaq, supported by renewed demand for technology shares, gained about 0.7%. Smaller companies also struggled: the Russell 2000 fell 0.5% on Friday and lost 1.5% over the week, a pattern consistent with the pressure that higher borrowing costs can place on smaller and more rate-sensitive businesses.

Energy markets added another layer of uncertainty. Crude prices retreated from earlier highs Friday but remained above $100 a barrel, keeping concern about inflation and transportation costs firmly in view. Brent crude briefly moved below $102 before climbing back above $103, according to Associated Press reporting. Elevated energy prices can filter into corporate expenses through freight, manufacturing, agriculture and consumer fuel costs, potentially complicating efforts to bring inflation sustainably lower.

The relationship between oil and equities was particularly important during the week because investors were simultaneously recalibrating expectations for monetary policy. If expensive energy keeps inflation elevated, investors could conclude that interest rates may need to remain restrictive for longer. That possibility would affect not only stock valuations but also corporate financing, housing, commercial real estate and consumer credit, giving movements in Treasury yields greater significance for the broader business environment.

Friday also produced unusually heavy trading volume. Approximately 25.29 billion shares changed hands across U.S. exchanges, compared with an average of about 16.19 billion over the previous 20 full sessions. The increase coincided with the quarterly expiration of stock and index options and futures contracts, commonly called triple witching, which can amplify trading activity as investors close or roll derivatives positions.

Several individual stocks experienced much larger swings than the indexes. Cryptocurrency-linked companies including Coinbase, Strategy and Robinhood rose sharply as bitcoin rebounded, while Xenon Pharmaceuticals dropped more than 30% after temporarily pausing enrollment in studies of an experimental depression treatment following reports of side effects. The contrast underscored how quickly company-specific news could overwhelm the relatively muted movement in the headline averages.

For investors, the week’s most important message may be the widening gap between headline index performance and underlying market conditions. The Nasdaq remains supported by enthusiasm for technology, artificial intelligence infrastructure and semiconductors, but most stocks did not participate in Friday’s advance. At the same time, a 10-year Treasury yield near 5% creates a higher hurdle for equity valuations and makes income-producing fixed-income securities more competitive with stocks.

Wall Street therefore heads into the next trading week with several forces still unresolved. Investors will be watching whether Treasury yields can stabilize, whether oil remains above the psychologically important $100 level and whether technology stocks can continue carrying the broader indexes despite weak participation elsewhere. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq managed to close Friday higher, but the market’s uneven breadth and the Dow’s sharp weekly decline showed that the turbulence surrounding rates, inflation and energy prices has not disappeared.