The S&P 500 rose but remained almost flat throughout the week after a sharp sell-off on Monday

The S&P 500 index rose on Friday and almost recovered losses since Monday, when it plummeted due to concerns about a recession and a reversal in carry trade with global yen funds.

The technology sector boosted the index to the maximum on Friday, and Wall Street's “fear index,” the Cboe Volatility Index, fell after surging earlier in the week.

Monday's sharp decline continued last week's sharp decline as employment statistics for July fell short of expectations, heightened concerns about the recession, and investors resolved exchange carry trade positions, including the Japanese yen.

Robert Phipps, director of Per Sterling Capital Management in Austin, Texas, said”Investors are trying to find evidence of bottoming out” he said.

On Thursday, US Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers expressed confidence that inflation has cooled down to the point where interest rate cuts are possible, and said they will judge the scale and timing of interest rate cuts from economic data.

Michael James, who works as the managing director of stock trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, said”There will continue to be considerable uncertainty and anxiety in the market for 1 month until the next Fed meeting” he said.

The Fed is expected to cut interest rates at the next policy meeting on 9/17-18, but traders are determining whether 25 basis points or 50 basis points are likely to cut interest rates. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, traders currently have a 51% chance of a 50 basis point rate cut and a 49% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut.

Investors are also awaiting US consumer prices and retail sales for July to be announced next week.