Wild late-day reversal for stocks | S&P 500's bear market dip | Recession fears loom

The S&P 500 staged a dramatic reversal in the final hour of trading to close slightly higher — after briefly dipping into bear market territory earlier in the day.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE FRI, MAY 20, 2022 EVENING BRIEF AS OF FRI, MAY 20, 2022 • 05:13 ET DJIA 31261.90 +0.03% +8.77 S&P 500 3901.36 +0.01% +0.57 NASDAQ 11354.62 -0.30% -33.88 Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 137.59 +0.24 +0.17% CSCO 42.94 +1.22 +2.92% INTC 41.65 -0.36 -0.86% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG AMD 93.50 -3.17 -3.28% AAPL 137.59 +0.24 +0.17% F 12.50 -0.35 -2.72% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG AMD 93.50 -3.17 -3.28% AAPL 137.59 +0.24 +0.17% NVDA 166.94 -4.30 -2.51% EDITOR'S NOTE Wow.   The S&P 500 staged a dramatic reversal in the final hour of trading to close slightly higher — after briefly dipping into bear market territory earlier in the day.   There's no official bear market designation on Wall Street. Some will count Friday's decline at the intraday lows as confirmation of a bear market, whereas some strategists may say it's not official until it closes 20% off its high. But, the downturn in the broad market index is the largest of its magnitude since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.   "This week's decline felt as if the market was starting to recognize that earnings growth and S&P 500 profitability may be in jeopardy as inflation will continue to be higher throughout the year," wrote David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors.   The wild moves in the broad market index come as the U.S. deals with inflationary pressures it has not seen in decades — exacerbated largely by the start of the war in Ukraine which contributed to a surge in energy prices.    On top of that, a more aggressive monetary policy stance by the Federal Reserve has raised more concerns over the economy tipping into a recession. The central bank hiked rates by half a percentage point earlier this month. This week, Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his comments that he will not hesitate raising rates to tamp down inflation.    Rising rates first hit highly-valued tech stocks, but the selling has spread to other parts of the market. Retailers especially suffered this week after poor quarterly results from Target and Walmart cast doubt on the companies' abilities to deal with rising costs. Meanwhile, energy is the only positive S&P 500 sector for the year.    "At some point the market will turn, but it won't be until these winds are shifting, inflation is coming down and consumers are feeling good about spending money again like they want to and are used to. These are pretty long cycles," said Johan Grahn, head of ETF strategy at Allianz Investment Management.   Sarah Min | Investing Reporter at CNBC Pro @_sarahmin Watch our live stream for all you need to know to invest smarter. TOP NEWS  Stocks close flat in wild session Friday that saw the S&P 500 briefly fall into a bear market Stocks head for another potentially treacherous week, after S&P 500 falls into bear market territory A 'bear market' looms. What exactly does that mean? Dr. Scott Gottlieb says rising monkeypox cases suggest it's spread 'pretty wide' Report says SpaceX paid woman over Musk sex misconduct claim – he denies 'wild accusations' CDC urges older Americans to get Covid booster shots as hospitalizations soar again Finnish gas supplies from Russia to be halted; Russia considers bill to let over-40s sign up for military Democratic senators concerned about phone location data being used to track people seeking abortions Trump pays $110,000 fine but must do more to lift contempt order, New York AG's office says What to think about when saving for near-term goals amid choppy markets, rising interest rates TOP VIDEO The Federal Reserve is not behind the curve, says Schroder's Ron Insana CNBC PRO The Fed doesn't care about your stock portfolio — at least until inflation calms down SPECIAL REPORTS Here's what to consider before staring a side hustle Recession is 'likely,' former SEC chief economist says. Here's his advice for how to prepare Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy © 2022 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS