No confidence? No problem.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 hit a new all-time high Friday, thanks mostly to positive news out of Europe, even as consumer confidence in the U.S. economy fell this month from an 11-year high.
The index closed at 2,095.31, a gain of nearly seven points, to pass its previous high of 2,090.57 set Dec. 29.
The Dow Jones and the Nasdaq also enjoyed good days, with the Dow blowing past the 18,000 level for the first time in weeks and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closing at a 15-year high.
Investors were buoyed by a combination of better-than-expected growth in Germany, Europe’s leading economy; signs of Greece’s willingness to finalize an agreement with other euro zone nations on how to continue its bailout; and the impending ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia-backed rebels.
Oil prices also rose Friday, continuing a weeklong trend, lifting energy shares higher.
The S&P’s new record “is reflecting a growing optimism in the global economy and here at home over the course of this week, especially with all the positive talk out of Europe and Greece,” Sean Incremona, senior economist at financial analysis firm 4CAST, told the Daily News.
The developments overseas helped offset a surprising decline in consumer sentiment so far this month.
The University of Michigan on Friday said its consumer sentiment index in February fell from an 11-year high, which likely reflected a slight gain in gasoline prices.
Consumer spending slowed in December and January despite the lowest gas prices in six years. The consumer sentiment index, though, was at its second-highest level in eight years.
“There’s been mixed U.S. data, but the recovery in general is still fairly well entrenched and there’s a lot of optimism with that,” Incremona said.
“So it’s been altogether difficult to keep the stock market down, and that was reflected in the prices (Friday).”
The Dow jumped 47 points to close at 18,1019, while the Nasdaq rose .75%, to 4,894.
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