Stocks end up: Nasdaq tops 5000, near all-time high
Stocks ended sharply higher Friday as the Nasdaq jumped back above 5000 and moved within striking distance of its record closing high of 5048.62, set in March 2000.
The advance set the stage for a solid weekly gain on Wall Street fueled by the news this week that the Federal Reserve has ruled out interest rate hikes at next month's meeting and said it had not "decided on the timing" of the first rate increase.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished up about 169 points, or 0.9%, at 18,127.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.9% to 2108.10, moving within 10 points of its record close of 2117.39.
The Nasdaq composite index rose for a fifth straight day and climbed about 34 points, or 0.7%. The tech-heavy index rose as high as 5042.14, a new 15-year intraday high and just 6 points from its record close. It ended the day at 5026.42 — a little more than 22 points away from its all-time closing high.
Energy stocks led the gains as oil prices rebounded Friday. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 4% to $45.72 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract plunged $1.12 on Thursday to close at $45.53.
Chevron (CVX) jumped 2.2% and ExxonMobil (XOM) gained 0.2%.
Driving the resurgence on Wall Street is a diminution of worries that have plagued markets in what has been a bumpy ride this month.
"The market is relaxing over concerns regarding the Fed, as they are more comfortable with the Fed's (expected) reduction in the pace of interest rate increases, and the related effect of the slowing pace of the dollar's rise," says Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management.
NEW MARKET ITINERARY:Spring break-out for stocks?
STOCKS:USA TODAY's live markets blog
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.93% from 1.97% Thursday.
European stocks ended higher as Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.9% and Germany's DAX index jumped 1.2%.
Markets in Asia were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.4% and China's Shanghai composite added 1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4%.
U.S. stocks fell Thursday as oil prices dipped further. The Dow lost 0.7%, to finish at 17,959.03 and the S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to 2089.27. The Nasdaq gained 0.2% to 4992.38.
Contributing: Adam Shell