* Wall St up, S&P 500 ends positive for 2016
* Oil falls after hitting 2016 high
* Dollar inches back from steep losses
(Updates to U.S. market close)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, March 18 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed in
positive territory for the year for the first time in 2016,
leading a gauge of stocks across major markets to a fifth week
of gains, its longest weekly run in more than two years.
The dollar, meanwhile, edged up on Friday but ended the week
lower against a basket of major currencies, giving a weekly
boost to energy and other commodity prices. The U.S. currency
fell for a third consecutive week, most recently weighed by the
Federal Reserves' resetting of market expectations on the number
of times it will raise rates in 2016.
Oil prices slipped after hitting 2016 peaks.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed above the level where it
ended last year for the first time. Healthcare and financial
sector stocks were among the leaders, a welcome signal of
rotation for stock bulls.
With the fear of a U.S. recession mostly in the rear-view
mirror, investors want to add to stock exposure and are buying
up the year's worst performers, according to Art Hogan, chief
market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.
"You want to see sector rotation into the laggards," he
said, noting that the rise to positive territory for the S&P 500
could mean the five-week stocks rally could lose steam.
"What we've seen is enough good news to say we're not going
into recession. This is a short-term top in a longer-term bull
market."
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 120.81 points,
or 0.69 percent, to 17,602.3, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.97
points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,049.56 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 20.66 points, or 0.43 percent, to 4,795.65.
The CBOE Volatility Index .VIX a measure of the price
traders pay for protection against a slide on the S&P 500,
closed at its lowest level since mid-August.
MSCI's index of stocks in major developed markets
.MIWD00000PUS gained 1.4 percent this week to end a fifth
straight positive week, a streak not seen since February 2014.
Stocks in emerging markets .MSCIEF jumped 3.2 percent in their
third straight weekly advance.
DOLLAR TICKS UP ON SHORT-COVERING
The dollar index .DXY bounced back from a five-month low,
rising against most major currencies, as traders covered short
bets triggered by the Fed's statement on Wednesday.
The yen gave back 0.2 percent versus the dollar JPY= after
hitting its strongest since October 2014 on Thursday. The euro
slipped 0.4 percent to $1.127.
On Friday, the European Central Bank's chief economist,
Peter Praet, indicated the ECB could further loosen monetary
policy.
"It's been a dizzying selloff for the dollar, so it's
natural that you're going to get some kind of bounce," said FX
Analytics partner David Gilmore in Essex, Connecticut.
A rising dollar in 2015 weighed on the global economy, and
its recent decline has helped push up oil and other commodity
prices.
U.S. crude prices slipped after trading above $41 a barrel
for the first time since early December as the weekly U.S oil
rig count rose for the first time since December. U.S. crude
CLc1 settled up for a fifth straight week.
Brent crude's front-month contract LCOc1 fell 0.2 percent
to $41.47 a barrel after touching a 2016 high of $42.54.
The benchmark U.S. Treasury note US10YT=RR rose 7/32 in
price to yield 1.8784 percent.
Spot gold XAU= closed the week up 0.5 percent after
earlier gaining as much as 1.8 percent from last Friday.
Copper CMCU3 posted its highest weekly closing level since
October.
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Currencies vs dollar http://link.reuters.com/tak27s
Oil prices http://link.reuters.com/beb23v
Commodities performance http://link.reuters.com/rac73w
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