Investing.com - Stocks hit record intraday and closing highs Friday, and the Nasdaq Composite Index topped 8,900 for the first time as the December market rally continued.
The Nasdaq closed up 0.42% at about 8,925 on a day when stocks shot higher at the open and basically stayed there. The gain puts the 9,000 level within reach.
The S&P 500 Index closed up 0.49% at 3,221, with strength in consumer staples, energy, health care and technology stocks.
The Dow Jones industrials jumped nearly 232 points at the open, but the index gave up about two-thirds of its gain, primarily on weakness in Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Nike (NYSE:NKE). The blue chips ended up 0.28%, or 78 points, at 28,455
Boeing (NYSE:BA) was down 1.65% after United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) said it is taking off flights using the 737 Max jetliner until at least June 4. Spirit Aerosystems Holdings (NYSE:SPR) was told by Boeing to halt production of new 737 Max fuselages until the plane is recertified. Spirit shares fell about 1%. Investors also appeared dismayed when a Boeing-built unmanned capsule failed to reach its proper orbit on its first standalone launch. The capsule is a key to returning Americans to space using U.S.-made equipment.
Boeing's loss to $328 cut the Dow's gain by more than 37 points.
Nike (NYSE:NKE) fell back 1.2% because the stocks had had a big recent run that made a modest miss in third-quarter gross profit margin a reason to sell.
The overall market was cheered by continued hopes that the U.S.-China trade deal would come together. In addition, the Commerce Department reported better-than-expected gains in personal income and spending in November.
Some 308 stocks hit 52-week highs on the day. Among these were 10 Dow stocks, including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). In addition, a number of big tech stocks hit new highs, including Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE), Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD).
The next two weeks will see lower volumes as traders and investors take time off for the holidays.
The S&P finished the week with a 1.65% gain. The Dow added 1.14%, while the Nasdaq moved up 2,18%.
For the year, the S&P 500 is up nearly 29%, with the Nasdaq up more than 34% and the Dow up 22%.
So far in December, the S&P is up 2.55%, which would be its best December since 2004. The Nasdaq is up 2.99%, also its best showing since December 2004. The Dow's December gain is 1.44%
But what a difference from December 2018 when the S&P fell 6.2%, the Nasdaq dropped 9.5% and the Dow fell 8.66%.
All that said, the relative strength indexes for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which can help gauge a market trend's strength, ended the day above 75. That's a clear signal that a selloff is coming at some point.
Oil prices moved lower, but interest rates were pulled higher by the rally in stocks.
West Texas intermediate crude fell 74 cents to $60.44 a barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, dropped 40 cents to $66.14.
The 10-Year Treasury yield rose to 1.917% from Thursday's 1.908%.