Dow soars 359 points as investors buy the dip in tech stocks

• Major US stock indexes climbed on Friday, driven by a surge in technology stocks.
• Still, Friday's increase wasn't enough to lift them into positive territory for the week. Both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average notched their fourth straight weekly decline.
• Equities have come under pressure in recent week as investors monitor rising COVID-19 cases overseas and in the US.
• Putting additional pressure on stocks is Congress' likely inability to pass another round of fiscal stimulus before the November election.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

Stocks climbed on Friday, driven by the same sector that's led markets lower over the past month: technology. Investors bought the dip and pushed major indexes firmly into positive territory after tepid trading in the morning hours.

Still, Friday's gains weren't enough to salvage a positive week. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average both notched their fourth straight weekly declines as investors continued to focus on rising COVID-19 cases, including surges in the UK and France.

On top of that, Congress' likely inability to pass additional stimulus measures before the November election has put pressure on equities and economic outlooks.

Goldman Sachs on Thursday lowered its fourth-quarter GDP estimates because of the lack of additional stimulus measures, and JPMorgan followed suit on Friday.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. market close on Friday:

• S&P 500: 3,298.46, up 1.6%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 27,173.96, up 1.3% (359 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 10,913.56, up 2.3%

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Investors are not showing signs of irrational exuberance, according to Bank of America. The firm said last week's fund flows saw the third-largest outflow from stocks on record.

Surges in virus cases have refocused investor attention on COVID-19 vaccine stocks. Novavax surged on Friday after the company said it began a phase-three trial of its vaccine in the UK.

Goldman Sachs said on Friday that a COVID-19 vaccine would help drive a rebound in demand for air travel, estimating that many passenger airlines would return to pre-pandemic flight levels in 2023.

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Despite weak price action in stocks throughout September, the IPO window remains open. Palantir is reportedly looking to go public next week at a valuation of $22 billion.

Gold fell as much as 0.8%, to $1,852.49 per ounce.

Oil prices slid. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 1.5%, to $39.71 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, fell 1%, to $41.52 per barrel, at intraday lows.

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