U.S. stocks rose for an eighth straight week, driving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the longest rally in almost a decade, as data on employment and consumer sentiment boosted confidence in economic growth.
Tiffany & Co. jumped 9.9 percent on better-than-estimated profit, pacing gains among retailers as investors speculate that an improving labor market and falling gas prices will stimulate holiday sales. Apple Inc. climbed 7 percent, helping lift the Nasdaq composite index above 4,000 for the first time in 13 years. Hewlett-Packard Co. surged 8.3 percent as revenue and earnings beat analysts’ estimates. Exxon Mobil Corp. slipped 1.6 percent as energy shares retreated on falling oil prices.
The S&P 500 added 0.1 percent to 1,805.81 in the holiday-shortened week, extending its longest weekly advance since January 2004. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 21.64 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,086.41. Nasdaq surged 1.7 percent to 4,059.89, the highest level since 2000.
“There is a lot of resilience in the stock market,” Jimmy Lee, a managing partner at Las Vegas-based Wealth Consulting Group, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees $1.3 billion. “A lot of investors have missed the big rise in the market. They are anxious to see good news come out of the economy so they have a reason to invest. Anytime we get any sort of good news, I think that supports the confidence.”
The S&P 500 and Dow touched record highs during the week as data showed jobless claims unexpectedly fell. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer confidence beat estimates, and the housing market sustained progress amid rising borrowing costs.
The U.S. market was closed Thursday for Thanksgiving.
