That data follows Thursday’s release of better-than-forecast weekly jobless claims and strong business activity numbers from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve.
Friday’s gains added to an already solid weekly performance. Through Thursday’s close, S&P 500 and Dow are up more than 1.5% each while the Nasdaq is up nearly 2%.
Stocks opened at record highs on Friday as strong global economic data and a solid start to the earnings season led to another week of gains.
Chinese industrial data for December came in better than expected, with production rising 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. The overall Chinese economy grew by 6.1% in 2019, matching expectations. To be sure, that is also the slowest growth rate for the Chinese economy since 1990.
