Wall Street closes at record highs

Wall Street capped the week with broad gains, propelling the major stock indexes to a new set of milestones Friday.

Investors welcomed signs that Congressional Republicans were solidifying support for a major overhaul of the nation’s tax laws ahead of an expected vote next week.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 23.80 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,675.81. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 143.08 points, or 0.6 percent, to 24,651.74. The Nasdaq added 80.06 points, or 1.2 percent, to 6,936.58. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 23.47 points, or 1.6 percent, to 1,530.42.

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs and finished the week with gains.

Technology stocks led Friday’s gains, which more than wiped out the market’s losses from the day before. Health care companies and banks also posted solid gains. Energy stocks were the only laggard.

Small-company stocks, which stand to benefit most from lower corporate tax rates, rose more than the rest of the market.

“The tax bill seems to be the driver right now,” said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank. “The market just thinks it will get done.”

The indexes were headed higher early on as investors watched developments in Washington with the Republican-led tax overhaul bill.

Technology stocks, which are leading the market this year, notched solid gains. Intel rose $1.30, or 3 percent, to $44.56.

“We had seen some rotation out of [technology stocks] the last few weeks,” said Jim Davis, regional investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “We’re starting to see more of a change back to some of the sectors that have done well this year.”

Banks and other financial companies were among the biggest gainers. Navient shares rose 58 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $13.20.

Costco Wholesale rose 3.3 percent after the warehouse club operator’s latest quarterly earnings and sales came in well above financial analysts’ expectations.

The stock rose $6.20 to $192.73.

Shares in Jabil gained 1.5 percent after the electronics manufacturer posted a bigger profit and better revenue than analysts had anticipated. The stock picked up 42 cents to $27.87.

CSX slumped 7.6 percent after the railroad operator said Chief Executive Officer Hunter Harrison is taking a medical leave. The stock was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, shedding $4.38 to $52.93.

Bond prices were little changed.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 2.35 percent late Thursday.

Oil futures finished mixed. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 26 cents to settle at $57.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 8 cents to close at $63.23 per barrel in London.

Gold rose 40 cents to $1,257.50 an ounce. Silver added 13 cents to $16.06 an ounce. Copper gained 6 cents, or 2 percent, to $3.13 a pound.