Bulls Charge Wall Street; Dow, S&P Hit Fresh Records

FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here

The broad S&P 500 zoomed close to 2% higher in its fourth-straight weekly as Wall Street's 2013 rally continued unabated.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 122 points, or 0.8%, to 15354, the S&P 500 advanced 15.7 points, or 0.95%, to 1666 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 33.7 points, or 0.97%, to 3499.

The Dow and S&P 500 once again closed at record highs Friday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq is trading at levels not seen since the tech bubble burst nearly 13 years ago. For the week, the Dow rallied 1.6%, the S&P 500 soared 2% and the Nasdaq leapt 1.8%.

After a round of broadly discouraging news on the U.S. economy Thursday, traders were greeted with upbeat data on the consumer sector.

The Reuters/University of Michigan gauge of consumer sentiment soared to 83.7 in early May from 76.4 in April, zooming by estimates of 78. It was the highest reading since July 2007.

In corporate news, J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) posted considerably weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings on the top and bottom lines after the closing bell Thursday. Still, Deborah Weinswig, an analyst at Citigroup (NYSE:C), said she was "encouraged" by chief executive Mike Ullman's strategic plan. The bank upped its price target by $5 to $20.

Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) revealed quarterly profits that were far shy of expectations, but sales that widely beat estimates.

In commodities, oil and gasoline prices ticked up. The benchmark U.S. crude contract rose 29 cents, or 0.3%, to $95.45 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline jumped 0.77% to $2.905 a gallon. In metals, gold fell $8.40, or 0.61%, to $1,379 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.67% to 15138, the English FTSE 100 gained 0.31% to 6709 and the German DAX rose 0.08% to 8376.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 rallied 0.67% to 15138 and the Chinese Hang Seng advanced 0.17% to 23083.