Dow, S&P hit records again
U.S. stocks capped a week that already had several record highs by delivering a couple more. The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index carved out all-time highs Friday, extending the market's gains for the week.
U.S. stocks capped a week that already had several record highs by delivering a couple more.
The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index carved out all-time highs Friday, extending the market's gains for the week.
All 10 sectors in the S&P 500 index rose, with materials stocks climbing the most. The sector is up 9 percent this year.
Energy stocks were among the big gainers, getting a boost from a rebound in oil prices. Some traders anticipated that OPEC would decide to cut production at a conference next week.
Ross Stores led the gains in the S&P 500, adding $6.09, or 7.3 percent, to $89.30.
The S&P 500 index rose 10.75 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,063.50. The S&P 500 is up 11.6 percent this year. The Dow gained 91.06 points, or 0.51 percent, to 17,810.06. The Dow as gained 7.4 percent this year. The Nasdaq composite added 11.10 points, or 0.24 percent, to 4,712.97. The index is up 12.8 percent for the year.
On Friday, China's central bank lowered the interest rate on its one-year loans to financial institutions by 0.4 percentage points to 5.6 percent. The surprise cut came in the wake of recent figures showing that the country's annual growth rate slowed to a five-year low of 7.3 percent last quarter.
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi also caused a stir in markets when he told a conference in Frankfurt, Germany, that the bank was willing to "step up the pressure" and increase its efforts to stimulate Europe's struggling economy.
Traders bid up shares in several companies that reported better-than-expected earnings. Software maker Splunk rose $1.99, or 3.1 percent, to $66.93. Sporting-goods retailer Hibbett Sports gained $1.82, or 4 percent, to $47.75.
Benchmark U.S. crude gained 66 cents to settle at $76.51 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose $1.03 to close at $80.36 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
In other energy futures trading on the NYMEX, wholesale gasoline rose 2.9 cents to close at $2.057 a gallon, heating oil rose 2.5 cents to close at $2.405 a gallon, and natural gas fell 22.3 cents to close at $4.266 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In metals trading, gold rose $6.80 to $1,197.70 an ounce, silver rose 26 cents to $16.40 an ounce, and copper rose a penny to $3.03 a pound.