The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes rose Friday as traders cheered renewed optimism on the U.S.-China trade front.
Wall Street also headed for strong gains for the week.
Gains in the tech and materials sectors pushed the S&P 500 up 0.2 percent. Tech shares also bolstered the Nasdaq, which climbed 0.6 percent. The Dow was down 25 points, however, as Boeing shares lost more than 1 percent.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq’s advances were kept in check, however, after data showed industrial production rose 0.1 percent in February. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an expansion of 0.3 percent.
Equities headed for strong weekly gains on Friday as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up more than 2 percent each through Thursday’s close. The Dow was up 1 percent, lagging its large-cap counterparts as steep losses in Boeing weighed on the 30-stock index.
This week’s gains were largely led by tech shares, as the sector surged 4 percent. The tech sector also became the best-performer of 2019. Nvidia is the best-performing stock in the sector, rising more than 12 percent while fellow semiconductor stocks like Broadcom and Lam Research also rose sharply this week.
Semiconductor shares rose broadly on Friday, as the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbed more than 2 percent. Broadcom shares led the gains, rising more than 9 percent after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.