S&P 500 closes wobbly week at new record high | Business News
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A man looks at screens showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and companies’ stock prices at a securities firm in Tokyo on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. Shares fell in Tokyo and Sydney on Friday after stocks closed nearly flat on Wall Street, while most Asian markets were closed to mark the Lunar New Year.
Men walk past screens showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. Shares fell in Tokyo and Sydney on Friday after stocks closed nearly flat on Wall Street, while most Asian markets were closed to mark the Lunar New Year.
A man walks past screens showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and companies’ stock exchanges at a securities firm in Tokyo on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. Shares fell in Tokyo and Sydney on Friday after stocks closed nearly flat on Wall Street, while most Asian markets were closed to mark the Lunar New Year.
Men walk past screens showing foreign exchange rates at a securities firm in Tokyo on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. Shares fell in Tokyo and Sydney on Friday after stocks closed nearly flat on Wall Street, while most Asian markets were closed to mark the Lunar New Year.
FILE – Pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in New York. Stocks remained mixed in early trading on Friday, Feb. 12, following the highs the market set the day before.
Technology companies led a late-afternoon rally on Wall Street Friday that capped a week of wobbly trading with the major stock indexes hitting all-time highs.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% after spending most of the day wavering between small gains and losses. The gain nudged the benchmark index to a record high for the second day in a row. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also set new highs.
More companies reported solid earnings, including manufacturer Mohawk Industries and genetic testing company Illumina. Bond yields rose, giving banks a boost. Bumble shares continued to climb after the company made a big splash in its stock market debut the day before.
Optimism that Washington will come through on trillions of dollars of more aid for the economy and encouraging company earnings reports have helped stocks grind higher this month, along with hopes that the coronavirus vaccine rollout will set the stage for stronger economic growth in the second half of this year.
“The one thing that continues to be supportive for the market is just the fact that the risk-reward in the U.S. equity market still seems to be the best game in town,” said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade.
The S&P 500 rose 18.45 points to 3,934.83, while the Dow gained 27.70 points, or 0.1% to 31,458.40. The Nasdaq added 69.70 points, or 0.5%, to 14,095.47.
