NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Following steep losses and massive intraday swings over the past five days, the U.S. stock market wrapped up the week on a relative high note, with the key benchmarks registering more than 1% gains on Friday.

Earlier in the week, investors exhibited panicky selling behavior as concerns over global growth, volatility in oil and the dollar, as well as fear of the spread of Ebola, converged.

On Friday, stocks got a boost from upbeat earnings reports from heavyweights, such as General Electric, Honeywell and Morgan Stanley. Those cheery earnings reports may be just what the markets need.

The S&P 500 SPX, -1.11% gained 24 points, or 1.3%, to 1,886.76, led by gains in industrials and health care sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.87% jumped 263.17 points, or 1.6%, to 16,380.41.

The Nasdaq Composite COMP, -1.07% rose 41.05 points, or 1%, to 4,258.44.

The main benchmarks were still left nursing modest weekly losses after brutal selloffs earlier in the week. Weekly losses were fourth in a row.

The Russell 2000 RUT, -0.37% dipped 4 points, or 0.4% to 1,082.33, underperforming its large-cap counterpart on Friday after relative strength over the week. Indeed, the small-cap index ended the week with a gain of 2.8%.

J.C. Parets, founder and president of Eagle Bay Capital, warns not to be fooled by the snapback, asserting that carnage the equity markets experienced isn’t nearly over. “We get the most vicious rallies during market declines,” he cautions in an interview.

Thursday’s sharp gains came after a choppy session on Wall Street on Thursday, when the benchmarks fell around 1% at the open. However, they recovered throughout the day, helped by comments from President of the St. Louis Federal Reserve James Bullard, who raised the possibility of extending bond purchases. Bullard isn’t a voting member this year of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren told CNBC on Friday he does not expect the U.S. economy to need another round of quantitative easing, but added that he would not rule out that possibility.

Earnings: Several heavyweights reported results ahead of the opening bell. General Electric Co. GE, -2.41% shares rose 2.4% after third-quarter earnings topped market expectations.

Defense contractor Honeywell International Inc. HON, -0.96% lifted its low end of its 2014 per-share outlook, after third-quarter earnings beat expectations, sending the shares 4.3% higher.

Morgan Stanley MS, -0.33% gained 2.1% after the bank reported third-quarter earnings that topped forecasts.

Movers and shakers: Urban Outfitters Inc. URBN, -3.14% slid 14% after the retailer late Thursday warned weaker sales trends first reported in September are continuing.

Google Inc. GOOGL, -2.41% GOOG, -2.37% shares fell 2.6% after the Internet giant late Thursday reported third-quarter below forecasts.

SanDisk Corp. US:SNDK slumped 2.9%, after the memory-chip maker on Thursday reported a drop in profit.

Read more about the day’s notable stocks in Movers & Shakers column.

Data: Friday’s economic data added to already positive mood. Construction started on new U.S. homes rose 6.3% in September, bouncing up after a sizable August drop, led by growth for volatile apartment building, according to government data released Friday.

Separately, consumer sentiment in October hit a fresh seven-year high. Though, economists say the final release may be revised lower on account of Ebola fears as well as turmoil on Wall Street.

Other markets: European markets rebounded after the recent market slide, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, -2.72% closing up 2.8%, its first gain in nine sessions.

Asian stocks closed mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK, +0.17% down 1.4%.

Oil markets took a breather on Friday after crude futures touched below $80 a barrel for the first time since June 2012 on Thursday. Metals were mixed, while the dollar fell against most major currencies.