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 Major indexes closed out their second straight weekly gain,
continuing an advance that has lifted the S&P 5.9 percent in seven
sessions. The benchmark index hit its 52nd record close of the year
on Friday, the most since 1995 and the fourth-best annual record
ever, while the Dow rose for a seventh straight day, its longest
streak since March 2013.
"The overall trend remains higher, but we're reaching a point where
we're overbought. Six percent since last Tuesday is such a strong
move in such a short period of time, even if bulls have the upper
hand in the longer term," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of
Sarhan Capital in New York.
Recent gains have come on strong economic data, including a bullish
read on economic growth earlier this week, as well as accommodative
measures from central banks.
The day's gains were broad, with eight of the S&P 500's 10 primary
sectors ending up on the day and no sector ending more than 0.1
percent lower. The utility sector was the day's strongest, up 1.2
percent, while healthcare rose 0.8 percent.
Healthcare stocks were boosted by biotechs, which jumped 2.3
percent. While the Nasdaq biotech index was one of the day's
strongest sectors, it fell 3.2 percent in a week marked by heavy
volatility. Celgene Corp rose 3.4 percent to $113.35 as the S&P
500's biggest percentage gainer, followed by Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals, up 3.3 percent to $413.48.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.5 points, or 0.13 percent,
to 18,053.71, the S&P 500 gained 6.89 points, or 0.33 percent, to
2,088.77 and the Nasdaq Composite added 33.39 points, or 0.7
percent, to 4,806.86.
For the week, the Dow rose 1.4 percent, the S&P rose 0.9 percent and
the Nasdaq rose 0.9 percent. It was the ninth positive week in the
past ten for the Dow and S&P.
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The S&P Retail index rose 0.5 percent in the first trading session
after Christmas. Among notable names, Best Buy Co rose 0.6 percent
to $39.14 while Macy's Inc dipped 0.3 percent to $64.05. Amazon.com
Inc rose 2 percent to $309.18.
"Things are looking positive since the shopping season coincided
with a big drop in crude oil, which means lower gas prices," Sarhan
said. "That translates to more disposable income, which could mean
stronger retail sales."
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,032 to
1,011, for a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,792
issues rose and 934 fell for a 1.92-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.
The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 70 new 52-week highs and 5
new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 133 new highs and 28
new lows.
About 3.06 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to
BATS exchange data, compared with the month-to-date average of 7.39
billion.
(Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
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