 U.S. stocks on Friday finished the week on a strong note, with the Dow and S&P 500 posting their second consecutive closing records and the Nasdaq Composite ending within a stone's throw of its record. Bullish investors point to a strong start to earnings season from the likes of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group coupled with blowout economic reports, notably a 10% rise in retail sales in March and weekly jobless claims figures falling to a pandemic low. Further helping lift buying momentum was a momentary pause in a climb for bond yields, which had previously been a sign of rising borrowing costs for investors and companies. The 10-year Treasury note yield finished at 1.571% on Friday, up on the day but down nearly 10 basis points on the week, marking its sharpest weekly drop in about 10 months. Against that backdrop, the Dow Jones Indusrtrial Average closed up by about 165 points, or 0.5%, to reach around 34,200, extending its climb beyond the 34,000 milestone achieved on Thursday. The S&P 500 index closed at a record high, up 0.4% to 4,185, while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 0.1% at 14,052, about 0.3% from its closing high or a little over 40 points. For the week, the Dow booked a 1.2% gain and the S&P 500 ended 1.4% higher, marking their fourth consecutive weekly climbs. The Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.1% for the week to mark its third straight weekly advance.
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