US stocks finish higher on the week, with Dow and S&P at records

Published: Friday, 20 Dec 2013 | 4:17 PM ET
By: Kate Gibson | Markets Writer

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U.S. stocks climbed on Friday, with the Dow and S&P 500 scoring record closes, after data had the U.S. economy growing faster-than-projected in the third quarter, increasing optimism about the economic outlook.

"No one is taking all the chips off the table with two weeks left," said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. Money managers in November could have easily closed out their year and had "a great December in Aruba and they didn't," he added.

"Short term, everybody is expecting more money to come back in," Silverblatt said of anticipated money flows into equities in December and in the first quarter.
On Friday, stocks drew an early lift from data that had the economy expanding at a more rapid pace than economists expected, with gross domestic product risingat a 4.1 percent annualized rate, and up from a prior estimate of 3.6 percent.
"We're ending 2013 in a good place; the global economy appears to be in slow-growth mode as evidenced this morning in the U.S. with favorable GDP numbers," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, of the Commerce Department report.


Name Price Change %Change
DJIA Dow Jones Industrial Average 16221.14 42.06 0.26%
S&P 500 S&P 500 Index 1818.32 8.72 0.48%
NASDAQ Nasdaq Composite Index 4104.74 46.61 1.15%

Taking out its prior interday record set Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a session high of 16,287.84. It closed at 16,221.14, up 42.06 points, or 0.3 percent, and up nearly 3 percent on the week.
The S&P 500 climbed to an intraday record of 1,823.75, surpassing its previous record hit on Nov. 29. It finished at 1,818.31, up 8.71 points, or 0.5 percent, leaving it with a weekly gain of 2.4 percent. Technology paced gains among the 10 major S&P 500 sectors, with telecommunications the sole laggard.
The Nasdaq also advanced, climbing 46.61 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,104.74, tallying its 12 straight Friday gain, its longest Friday-win streak in more than three years. It gained 2.6 percent from the week ago close.
Red Hat jumped after the software company posted third-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street's estimates and hiked its full-year profit and sales outlook.
BlackBerry shares rose after the struggling smartphone said it had signed a five-year deal with Foxconn—the Taiwan-based manufacturer of Apple products—to help it develop consumer-focused smartphones for Indonesia and other markets.



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For every stock that fell, nearly four gained on the New York Stock Exchange, where almost 2 billion shares traded. Composite volume surpassed 4.9 billion.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures for February delivery turned higher, up 28 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $99.32 a barrel. Gold futures for February delivery rose $10.10, or 0.9 percent, to $1,203.70 an ounce.
The dollar edged lower against other global currencies, while the 10-yearTreasury note yield fell 4 basis points to 2.89 percent.
Friday's session marked the last trading day for stock options on indexes, equities and futures, with futures themselves also expiring. Added to the mix is the S&P 500's quarterly rebalancing, with has Facebook joining the S&P 500 after the close.
On Thursday, stocks finished little changed, but with the Dow rising to a record, as investors sorted through economic data.
"We think 2014 will be a transition year. Returns in 2013 were largely driven not only by earnings but by Fed liquidity and P/E expansion," said Sandven, referring to the price-earnings ratio that by his calculation saw a 20 percent increase through 2013.

"We expect modest P/E expansion in the new year," Sandven added.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101289095