Nov. 15, 2013, 4:39 p.m. EST
S&P 500, Dow hit records, rise for 6th week

S&P 500 index has longest winning streak since February


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By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks stepped higher on Friday, lifting the S&P 500 and Dow industrials to record closes again, as investors continued to find encouragement in Janet Yellen’s support for the Federal Reserve’s stimulus efforts.


The S&P 500 index SPX +0.42% climbed 7.56 points, or 0.4%, to finish at 1,798.18.


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The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.54% jumped 85.48 points, or 0.5%, to close at 15,961.70. Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM -0.25% fared best among Dow components, rising 2.2% on news of Warren Buffett’s conglomerate establishing a stake in the oil major.

The S&P 500 and Dow achieved their sixth weekly gains in a row, rising 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively. The S&P 500 has posted its longest winning streak since February.


The Nasdaq Composite COMP +0.33% tacked on 13.23 points, or 0.3%, to end at 3,985.97. The tech-heavy index gained 1.7% for the week, posting its first up week in three weeks. It has risen for six straight sessions.


On Friday, the market also absorbed some softer-than-expected economic data, such as a weaker-than-anticipated reading on New York state manufacturing, a dip in industrial production and a bigger-than-expected drop in import prices.

Check out MarketWatch’s live blog of Friday’s stock-market action.

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Hot stocks: Men’s Wearhouse, Exxon, Kimberly

Brendan Conway takes a look at which stocks traders will be watching during market action, including Exxon, Men's Wearhouse, and Kimberly Clark. Photo: Getty Images.

At a confirmation hearing on Thursday, Yellen, the nominee to lead the Fed, defended the central bank’s aggressive bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing or QE, and tried to ease concerns that bubbles were forming in the equity markets. That boosted stocks globally on Thursdayand continued to contribute to positive sentiment on Friday. Read more in the Need To Know column: The Fed’s ‘dodo’ model

“Bulls have been given a boost by dovish comments this week from Fed chair nominee Janet Yellen, indicating that she believes the Fed has more work to do in order to strengthen the economy and suggesting that QE may continue for some time to come,” said Colin Cieszynski, senior market analyst at CMC Markets, in emailed comments on Friday.


“Soft Empire manufacturing and industrial production data this morning support the case for delayed tapering,” Cieszynski added, referring to when the Fed might reduce its bond-buying program that has boosted stocks. He said reports of Chinese reforms have “also encouraged traders.”

Read more: Morgan Stanley among the China bulls as ‘baby love’ drives up ETFs




Victor Reklaitis is a New York-based markets writer for MarketWatch. Follow him on Twitter @VicRek. Sara Sjolin contributed to this report.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-...-13-2013-11-15