Dow sets record close above 40,000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Friday above the key 40,000 level for the first time in history, a day after hitting that benchmark in the previous trading session.

The 30-stock average rose 134.21 points, or 0.34%, to 40,003.59. The S&P 500 inched up 6.17 points, or 0.12%, to 5,303.27, while Nasdaq Composite ended down 12.35 points, or 0.07%, at 16,685.97.

Shares of Walmart and Caterpillar, both trading 1% higher, led the Dow. Chubb and Valero Energy, respectively up more than 3% and 4%, were the biggest gainers in the S&P 500.

Stocks finished the week strong, with the Dow up 1.2% to notch its fifth straight weekly gain. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed 1.5% and 2.1% week to date, cinching their longest winning streak since February.

On Thursday, the Dow reached an intraday high of 40,051.05, above the psychologically important 40,000 level, before pulling back to end the day down 0.1%.

This week’s ascent has helped propel the three indexes into positive territory for the second quarter despite a tough start. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are now each up more than 11% in 2024, while the Dow has climbed more than 6% this year.

While concerns over the durability of the current rally have been voiced by some investors, Tom Hainlin believes that the combination of economic growth and decelerating inflation is the perfect catalyst.

“That’s a fairly optimistic setup for at least the near future here in 2024,” the senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Asset Management told CNBC. “We appreciate that valuation is a little high relative to history, but so is earnings growth and so is earnings stability.”

Correction: This story was updated to correct the day of the week.