US close: Atlanta and New York Fed presidents show slight caution

Wall Street finished on a positive note, with the S&P 500 clocking in with its biggest weekly gain of the year as equity markets continued to bounce back after a sharp slump that started in August.

The S&P 500 was just 0.07% higher at 2.104.89 by the end of trading, but up by 3.3% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrials put on another 0.20% or 33.74 points to reach 17,084.49 while the Nasdaq tacked on 0.41% or 19.68 points to 4,830.47.

Stocks had to weather mixed remarks from a barrage of Fed speakers on Friday, alongside a poor set of quarterly figures out from aluminium manufacturer Alcoa and downwards revisions to forecasts for economic growth.

The CBoE's volatility index retreated 2% to a reading of 17.08.

Atlanta Fed president more cautious on likelihood of 2015 rate hike

Minutes released on Thursday from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed the central bank was indeed quite cautious regarding the international environment.

Nonetheless, some observers believed the FOMC was not happy to see financial markets having turned so skeptical regarding the possibility of a rate rise this year.

On Friday, the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Atlanta, Dennis Lockhart, told an audience he still expected rate 'lift-off' to come in 2015. However, Lockhart added: “you should detect from the way I framed my remarks that I am slightly less confident today than I was six weeks ago.”

His peer at the New York Fed, Charles Dudley, also revealed a certain degree of caution. Dudley told CNBC he continued to expect interest rates would begin to rise in December, but that is "a forecast. And we’re going to get a lot of data between now and December,” he said. "It’s not a commitment.”

GDP forecasts come down

On the economic data front, excluding fuel, import prices fell 0.1% month-on-month compared with a 1.6% drop in the previous month and with analysts’ expectations for a 0.5% decline.

On a year-on-year basis, import prices tumbled 10.7%, with the slump in oil prices the main driver behind the drop.

"We think that following dollar strength and amid uncertainty about economic activity abroad, imported price pressures are likely to remain subdued in the coming months and act as a drag on consumer goods prices," analysts at Barclays said.

Wholesale inventories edged higher by 0.1% on the month in August (consensus: 0%), with the so-called inventory to sales ratio climbing to its highest since 2009 as a result.

As a result of the data the Atlanta Fed's third quarter tracking estimate for US gross domestic product slipped to an annuliased rate of 1% from 1.1%.

Earnings season kicks off on downbeat note

In company news, shares in Alcoa declined 7% after the aluminium producer kicked off the earnings season late on Thursday by lowering its outlook for automotive production growth in China.

Fashion retailer Gap plunged 5% after saying that total sales fell 1% last month on the back of currency headwinds.

Ascena Retail Group lost 3.10% after Golden Gate Capital revealed having a 9% stake in the company.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged higher by 0.12% to $49.49 a barrel on the ICE.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note slipped by two basis points to 2.09%.

S&P 500 - Risers
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $51.57 +9.00%
International Paper Co. (IP) $43.23 +5.21%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $16.98 +4.17%
Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) $70.26 +4.15%
Ensco Plc. (ESV) $16.84 +3.38%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $39.94 +3.04%
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $86.14 +2.83%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $33.16 +2.76%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $119.27 +2.75%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $47.21 +2.72%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $10.26 -6.81%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $12.80 -5.81%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $27.42 -5.28%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $8.88 -4.93%
Avon Products Inc. (AVP) $4.14 -4.39%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $5.18 -4.25%
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $5.41 -4.08%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $50.78 -3.93%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $269.16 -3.83%
Dover Corp. (DOV) $61.50 -3.67%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $119.27 +2.75%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $112.12 +2.39%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $95.37 +1.10%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $105.56 +0.91%
Boeing Co. (BA) $139.70 +0.47%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.24 +0.45%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $95.37 +0.31%
3M Co. (MMM) $149.90 +0.28%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $121.33 +0.22%
American Express Co. (AXP) $77.33 +0.19%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $32.14 -1.17%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $179.19 -1.04%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $79.26 -0.96%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $71.30 -0.75%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $47.11 -0.72%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $89.57 -0.38%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $61.93 -0.32%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $66.69 -0.28%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $102.76 -0.18%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.16 -0.16%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $51.57 +9.00%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $147.77 +5.27%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $33.16 +2.76%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $503.92 +2.59%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $112.12 +2.39%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $144.22 +2.10%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $63.36 +2.06%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $125.34 +2.00%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $76.02 +1.99%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $83.82 +1.90%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $269.16 -3.83%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $18.16 -2.99%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $62.36 -2.73%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $220.69 -2.66%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $67.98 -2.30%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $12.37 -1.98%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $161.08 -1.97%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $56.69 -1.78%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $4.08 -1.69%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $34.74 -1.61%