S and P 500 closes above 1,800 for 1st time

US stocks Friday continued to power to new peaks with the S&P 500 closing above 1,800 for the first time and the Dow recording a fresh record.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 8.91 points (0.50 percent) at 1,804.76, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average put on 54.78 (0.34 percent) at 16,064.77.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 22.49 (0.57 percent) to 3,991.65.

Friday's gains capped a dramatic week that underscored Wall Street's bullishness in 2013, a year that has seen the S&P 500 rise more than 26 percent and the Dow record more than 40 new all-time highs.

"There's not a lot of negative news to slow stocks," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at Standard & Poor's Capital IQ. "Little by little, people are throwing in the towel, meaning they are joining in on the rally."

Analysts say the rally has been fueled by steadily improving economic data, better earnings and loose monetary policy.

Most components in the Dow rose Friday, with aerospace giant Boeing (+2.3 percent) and insurer Travelers Companies (+1.5 percent) leading the way. Nike rose 1.0 percent after announcing a 14 percent increase in its quarterly dividend.

But chipmaker Intel was the laggard among the blue chips, falling 5.4 percent after projecting at an analyst day that 2014 sales would be flat. Summit Research said the company's entire strategy presentation "can be summed up by the word 'flat.'"

IBM, another Dow component, also fell, declining 1.5 percent after hedge fund investor Stanley Druckenmiller publicly bet against the stock.

Pharmaceutical company Biogen jumped 13.2 percent after a European medical advisory committee gave a key clearance to its Tecfidera treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Time Warner Cable surged 10.0 percent after The Wall Street Journal reported that Charter Communications was close to garnering financing to buy it. Charter rose 6.1 percent.

Retailer Ross Stores fell 5.7 percent after forecasting fourth-quarter earnings between 97 cents and $1.01 per share, well below the $1.09 expected by analysts. Chief executive Michael Balmuth said he expects the upcoming holiday shopping season to be "the most intensely competitive and promotional selling period in recent years."

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slipped to 2.75 percent from 2.78 percent Thursday, while the 30-year fell to 3.84 percent from 3.88 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.