Stocks Jumped as Financial Stocks Rose

U.S. stocks jumped on Friday as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s dovish tone and a strengthening economic outlook compelled investors to take on more risk. At close, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 120.81 points, or 0.69%, to 17,602.30. The S&P 500 gained 8.99 points, or 0.44%, to 2,049.58. The Nasdaq Composite added 20.66 points, or 0.43%, to 4,795.65. All three stock benchmarks booked a fifth straight weekly gain.

The Federal Reserve’s decision this week to signal just two interest-rate hikes this year surprised the markets — by a historically large amount, according to an analysis.

Crude prices settled lower on Friday, renewing worries of a supply glut after an output freeze plan helped boost the market to 2016 highs and multi-week gains. Brent crude (LCOc1) finished down 34 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $41.20 a barrel, having risen $1 earlier to a 2016 high of $42.54. U.S. crude (CLc1) settled down 76 cents, or 1.9 percent, at $39.44, after also gaining $1 to a year high of $41.20.

Domino’s Pizza in Australia announced Friday that new pizza-delivery robots, called Domino’s Robotic Unit or DRU, can navigate neighborhoods and deliver pizza straight to customers.