US stocks rise to fresh records in shortened session

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Investors anticipate that plans by President-elect Donald Trump to cut taxes, reduce regulations and spend on infrastructure will speed economic growth. Investors are also reacting to recent signs of a pickup in growth in several other major economies around the world, said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Wells Capital Management.

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“We haven’t had a synchronized bounce in growth across the globe ever in this recovery” Paulsen said. “This is the first time you’re getting all the economic boats going north at the same time, and I think stock markets are reflecting that.”

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 68.96 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 19,152.14. The S&P 500 climbed 8.63 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,213.35. The Nasdaq composite added 18.24 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 5,398.92.

Stock trading closed at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. Trading was relatively quiet as investors returned from the Thanksgiving holiday.

Investors sold bonds again on fear that inflation in the future could eat into their fixed payments. Yields, which move opposite prices, fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.36 per cent.

Ten of 11 sectors of the S&P 500 rose. Energy companies fell with the price of oil. ConocoPhillips lost 55 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $45.75.

Electricity supplier Entergy Energy rose $1.41, or 2.1 per cent, to $69.53. The climb in utilities on Friday reflects investor desire for steady dividends. Telephone companies, which are also big dividend payers, rose, too. AT&T climbed 48 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $39.21.

Among others stocks making moves Friday, Johnson & Johnson rose $1.06 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $114.13 after the health care company said it is in early talks to buy Swiss drugmaker Actelion.

Deere & Co. rose 1.7 per cent, after rocketing 11 per cent on Wednesday. The maker of agricultural and construction equipment reported a quarterly loss on Wednesday, but it was much less than expected. It closed Friday at $103.92, up $1.75.

Stocks closed higher overseas, too.

Britain’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 each rose 0.2 per cent. Germany’s DAX climbed 0.1 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished 0.3 per cent higher and South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.2 per cent. Stocks in Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and other Southeast Asian markets also advanced.

Oil prices fell sharply. Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.90, or 4 per cent, to $46.06 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost $1.90, or 3.9 per cent, to $47.10 in London.

Investors pushed prices up earlier in the week, but are on edge in anticipation of a meeting of OPEC nations next week. They are meeting to possibly hammer out an agreement on meaningful output cuts.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline fell 5 cents to $1.37 a gallon, heating oil lost 5 cents to $1.47 a gallon and natural gas rose 6 cents to $3.09 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The dollar remained at a more than eight-year high against the Chinese yuan, which was trading at 6.92 yuan per dollar. The dollar fell against the Japanese yen, to 113.09 yen from 113.69 yen, while the euro strengthened to $1.0600 from $1.0547.

Bernard Condon, The Associated Press