US stocks end week at fresh records

Wall Street stocks climbed to fresh records Friday, with all three indices closing at new highs on optimism about stronger US growth following the presidential election, albeit amid light holiday volume.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 19,152.14, up 0.4 percent in its fourth straight record close.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.4 percent to 2,213.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced to 0.3 percent to 5,398.92.

Analysts said trading volume in the holiday-shortened session was light, allowing stocks to drift higher based on the positive sentiment that has sparked several records since Donald Trump's election November 8.

"This is all about Trump and the new presidency," said Hugh Johnson of Hugh Johnson Advisors.

"The strategists and economists have been trying to refine their forecasts based on the changes he represents. Most are raising their forecasts for the US economy in 2017 and 2018."

Retailers were mixed on the "Black Friday" start of the holiday shopping season. Wal-Mart Stores rose 0.6 percent and Target climbed 0.2 percent, but Best Buy lost 0.8 percent and Macy's sank 1.7 percent. Amazon was flat.

Johnson & Johnson rose 0.9 percent following reports it had approached drugmaker Actelion with an eye towards acquiring the Swiss company.

Actelion, which confirmed that it had been approached by J&J about a possible transaction, jumped nearly 17 percent in Switzerland.

(AFP)