S&P 500, Nasdaq close at record highs as global market caps off historic month

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs when Wall Street shuttered early Friday at the end of the holiday week, adding 0.2 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Both indexes had previously set high marks earlier in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also shot up, but fell short of reaching the milestone it set earlier this week when it surpassed 30,000 for the first time ever. All three major benchmarks capped off huge weeks, trading up 2 percent since the opening bell Monday. Indeed, global stocks were on pace to cap off their most successful month on record Friday, The Financial Times notes.

The gains are likely tied somewhat to optimism about President-elect Joe Biden's victory, but the major driver is the encouraging coronavirus vaccine news that has steadliy rolled out in recent weeks. That has investors banking on a resurgent economy next year. "It's incredible, absolutely stunning," Fahad Kamal, chief market strategist at Kleinwort Hambros, said of the upswing, noting it's "all linked back to one crucial factor and that's the vaccine." Read more at The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times.

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