Wall Street Rallies, Dow Jones Ind'l Average Sets Record

Stocks rallied to records on Wall Street Friday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 35,000 level for the first time, as the market continued to roar back from its short-lived swoon at the start of the week, Damian J. Troise and Stan Choe reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The S&P 500 index climbed 44.31, or 1%, to 4,411.79 to top its prior all-time high, set early last week. The Dow rose 238.20, or 0.7%, to 35,061.55, and the Nasdaq composite gained 152.39, or 1%, to 14,836.99.

All three indexes finished with gains of better than 1% for the week, completely brushing aside the sharp downturn that trimmed 1.6% off the S&P 500 on Monday. That drop was caused by worries about a potentially sharp slowdown in the economy due to a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus.

But the S&P 500 has since climbed four straight days, as big companies reported better profits than expected and as investors once again saw any dip in stocks as merely a chance to buy low.

The economy continues to recover at a torrid pace, with the question being how much growth will slow in upcoming months and years. A preliminary report from IHS Markit on Friday indicated US manufacturing growth may be unexpectedly accelerating in July, though growth in services industries looks to be slowing more than economists expected.

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