Dow Breaks 15,000, S&P Tops 1,600

U.S. stocks rose to record heights on Friday, with the Dow industrials soaring above 15,000 and the S&P 500 index above 1,600, as Wall Street celebrated the April jobs report. After rising above 15,000 for the first time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 142.38 points, or 0.96%, to 14,973.96, a record finish and leaving it 1.8% higher for the week. The S&P 500 added 16.83 points, or 1.05%, to 1,614.42, also a record close that gave it a 2% weekly rise. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 38.01 points, or 1.14%, to 3,378.63, up 3% from a week ago.

New orders for factory goods recorded their biggest drop in seven months in March, but a gauge of planned business spending rose slightly, suggesting businesses are continuing to spend despite a slowdown in factory activity. The
Commerce Department on Friday said orders for manufactured goods dropped 4 percent.

A recovery in the housing market means the Federal Reserve should think about how to reduce its holdings of mortgage-backed securities over time in order to avoid creating another bubble in real estate, a top central banker said on Friday.

Citigroup Inc (C.N) has won an injunction blocking a $383 million arbitration case filed by a Saudi Arabian investor who accused the bank of “virtually wiping out” his family’s wealth.