Stocks: Nasdaq hits high, but Dow retreats from 20,000 . . . again

Stocks ended mostly up Friday, with the Nasdaq hitting a new closing high but the Dow dipping a few points below break-even after coming within about 50 from the psychologically-important 20,000 level.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 5 points, less than 0.1%, to finish at 19,885.73.

Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite index gained 0.5% to its record close of 5574.12. The Nasdaq has moved higher for eight of the past nine sessions.

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Three major U.S. banks reported quarterly results early Friday that beat Wall Street’s forecasts. JPMorgan Chase(JPM) added 0.6%, while  Bank of America(BAC) rose 0.4%. Wells Fargo(WFC)  rose 1.24%.

A jump in bond yields and interest rates also helped give lenders a lift. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.39% from 2.36%  late Thursday.

Traders got a batch of encouraging news on the U.S. economy Friday. The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.6% in December as online shopping and auto sales increased. Separately, the Labor Department said a gauge of producer prices, which tracks price changes before they reach consumers, rose 1.6% in the 12 months ended in December. That’s the biggest 12-month gain since September 2014.

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In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up 0.9%,  while France’s CAC 40 was 1.2% higher. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.6%. Earlier in Asia, some markets finished lower on disappointing trade data from China. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.5%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.8%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.5%.

Benchmark crude oil was down 68 cents, or 1.3%, at $52.33 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price oil sold internationally, was down 56 cents, or 1%, at $55.45 a barrel in London.