S&P 500 hits another record, marks 4th weekly gain in a row

Stocks continued to march higher on Wall Street Friday, giving the S&P 500 its latest record high and its fourth straight weekly gain. The benchmark index rose 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed at an all-time high. Higher bond yields helped lift bank stocks, and health care companies and those that rely on consumer spending also did well. Technology stocks lagged behind, leaving the Nasdaq up just 0.1 percent. Homebuilders rose after the Commerce Department said home construction rebounded strongly in March to the fastest pace since 2006 as builders recovered from an unusually frigid February. Treasury yields rose.

A tick up in bond yields helped lift bank stocks. Health care companies and those that rely directly on consumer spending also pushed the market higher. The gains were tempered by a modest pullback in technology stocks, which has been happening often when bond yields move higher. Crude oil prices also slipped and weighed down energy companies.

The S&P 500 was up 0.4 percent as of 3:29 p.m. Eastern, on track for its fourth weekly gain in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 179 points, or 0.5 percent to 34,216. The S&P and Dow hit all-time highs on Thursday. The technology-heavy Nasdaq was up 0.1 percent after recovering from an early slide.

Bond yields were moving higher after falling earlier in the week. The yield of the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.57 percent from 1.53 percent late Thursday. However, bond yields are down from the highs they hit earlier in the month, when the 10-year note traded at a yield of 1.75 percent.

“There’s sort of a churning with regard to interest rates and in the market itself,” said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager with Globalt Investments.

The market has seen both high-flying technology stocks and sectors beaten down by the pandemic taking turns leading the way higher over the last few months. That choppiness will likely continue as investors reevaluate their portfolios, Martin said.

The market now heads into the busiest two weeks of the earnings reporting season. Expectations are high for companies to show they are recovering from the pandemic or have roadmaps to show when profits will return.

Dozens of companies will report next week, including Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon Communications, Dow Chemical and American Airlines.