Stocks continued to march higher on Wall Street Friday amid a string of encouraging reports on hiring, consumer confidence and spending that point to an accelerating U.S. economy.
Stocks added to their recent gains Friday, driving the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to new highs. The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent, led by gains in companies that rely directly on consumer spending, health care stocks and banks, which benefited from higher Treasury yields. The benchmark index notched its fourth straight weekly gain. The gains were tempered by modest declines in technology stocks, which have been prone to pull back when bond yields move higher. Rising bond yields tend to make shares in technology companies that have had a strong run-up over the past year look too expensive. Crude oil prices slipped, weighing down energy companies. Bond yields rose broadly after falling earlier in the week. The yield of the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.59 percent from 1.53 percent late Thursday. Still, bond yields are down from the highs they hit earlier in the month, when the 10-year note traded at a yield of 1.75 percent. “There’s sort of a churning with regard to interest rates and in the market itself,” said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager with Globalt Investments. The S&P 500 rose 15.05 points to 4,185.47. The Dow gained 164.68 points, or 0.5 percent to 34,200.67. The S&P and Dow also hit all-time highs on Thursday. The technology-heavy Nasdaq inched up 13.58 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,052.34 after recovering from an early slide. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies added 5.60 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,262.67. Stocks have rallied in recent weeks amid a string of encouraging reports on hiring, consumer confidence and spending that point to an accelerating U.
