Stock indexes end week of milestones with more new highs

Wall Street closed out the week with more milestones Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 28,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs.

Health care and technology stocks powered most of the broad rally, which helped drive the S&P 500 to its sixth straight weekly gain. The Dow extended its streak of weekly gains to four.

The strong finish caps a week when the major stock indexes set more highs while barely moving and extends a string of gains for the broader market in recent weeks.

 Hopes that the U.S. and China can make progress in their latest push for a trade deal have helped keep investors in a buying mood.

“Over the past week the market absorbed a number of challenging trade headlines, and it didn’t go down,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.8%, to 3,120.46. The benchmark index briefly reached the 3,100 mark earlier in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 222.93 points, or 0.8%, to 28,004.89. The Nasdaq composite climbed  0.7%, to 8,540.83. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 0.5%, to 1,596.45. -- AP