Market closes with another record high

Associated Press

The stock market closed out its fifth-straight week of gains with another record high Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index carved out all-time highs, extending the market’s gains for the week. It was the third record close for the Dow in the week and the fourth for the S&P 500.

The latest records extended a comeback in the S&P 500, which has increased 11 percent since plunging in mid-October. A strong third-quarter earnings season, on top of a recent string of positive U.S. economic data on housing, jobs and manufacturing, have helped put investors in a buying mood.

Investors on Friday cheered news of an interest-rate cut in China and the possibility that Europe’s central bank will step up stimulus efforts in the region.