Dow closes at record high above 40,000 to cinch a five-week winning streak

The


Dow
Jones
Industrial
Average
closed
Friday
above
the
key
40,000
level
for
the
first
time
in
history,
a
day
after
hitting
that
benchmark
in
the
previous
trading
session.

The
30-stock
average
rose
134.21
points,
or
0.34%,
to
40,003.59.
The


S&P
500
inched
up
6.17
points,
or
0.12%,
to
5,303.27,
while


Nasdaq
Composite
ended
down
12.35
points,
or
0.07%,
at
16,685.97.

Shares
of


Walmart
and


Caterpillar,
both
trading
1%
higher,
led
the
Dow.


Chubb
and


Valero
Energy,
respectively
up
more
than
3%
and
4%,
were
the
biggest
gainers
in
the
S&P
500.

Stocks
finished
the
week
strong,
with
the
Dow
up
1.2%
to
notch
its
fifth
straight
weekly
gain.
The
S&P
500
and
Nasdaq
climbed
1.5%
and
2.1%
week
to
date,
cinching
their
longest
winning
streak
since
February.

On
Thursday,
the
Dow
reached
an
intraday
high
of
40,051.05,
above
the
psychologically
important
40,000
level,
before
pulling
back
to
end
the
day
down
0.1%.

This
week’s
ascent
has
helped
propel
the
three
indexes
into
positive
territory
for
the
second
quarter
despite
a
tough
start.
The
S&P
500
and
Nasdaq
are
now
each
up
more
than
11%
in
2024,
while
the
Dow
has
climbed
more
than
6%
this
year.

While
concerns
over
the
durability
of
the
current
rally
have
been
voiced
by
some
investors,
Tom
Hainlin
believes
that
the
combination
of
economic
growth
and
decelerating
inflation
is
the
perfect
catalyst.

“That’s
a
fairly
optimistic
setup
for
at
least
the
near
future
here
in
2024,”
the
senior
investment
strategist
at
U.S.
Bank
Asset
Management
told
CNBC.
“We
appreciate
that
valuation
is
a
little
high
relative
to
history,
but
so
is
earnings
growth
and
so
is
earnings
stability.”

Correction:
This
story
was
updated
to
correct
the
day
of
the
week.