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Stocks rose on Friday as another round of trade talks between the U.S. and China wrapped up with investors increasingly more hopeful a deal will be struck.
The Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 181.18 points to 26,031.81, as Intel outperformed. The 30-stock index also broke above 26,000 for the first time since early November and posted its ninth consecutive weekly gain, its longest streak since May 1995.
The S&P 500 strengthened 17.79 points to 2,792.67, led by gains in the tech sector.
The NASDAQ Composite recouped 67.84 points to 7,527.54, as shares of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet all closed higher. The tech-heavy NASDAQ also notched its ninth straight weekly gain, its longest streak since May 2009.
Intel shares rose more than 2% on Friday after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight, noting Intel could get a boost now that Bob Swan is the full-time CEO.
Shares of Kraft Heinz plummeted 27.5% after the consumer products company disclosed a Securities and Exchange Commission subpoena from an investigation into its accounting practices. The company also disclosed a $15.4-billion writedown.
President Donald Trump met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Friday. Liu delivered a letter to Trump saying Chinese President Xi Jinping hopes the two countries can redouble efforts to strike a trade deal. The major indexes fell from their session highs on those comments.
Trump's meeting with Liu on Friday comes after a U.S. delegation met with Xi last week. Media reports surfaced that Trump and Xi are also discussing a summit at Mar-a-Lago late in March.
Meanwhile, trade tensions between the U.S. and Europe are increasing. The European Union is preparing to target heavy machines made by U.S. companies like Caterpillar if the U.S. slaps tariffs on cars made in the E.U. Shares of Caterpillar dipped before the bell on the report, but traded slightly higher after the open.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 2.65% from Thursday’s 2.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved higher 22 cents to $57.18 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices tallied $2.80 to $1,330.60 U.S. an ounce.
