Stocks Ended Higher, Dow Reclaimed 26,000

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, with the Dow climbing above 26,000 points for the first time since November 9 and posted its ninth consecutive weekly advance as investors continued to digest commentary surrounding progress toward a U.S.-China trade deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 181.18 points, or 0.70%, to 26,031.81. The S&P 500 advanced 17.79 points, or 0.64%, to 2,792.67. The Nasdaq Composite gained 67.84 points, or 0.91%, to 7,527.54.

U.S. crude-oil futures on Friday posted their highest close in more than three months. April West Texas Intermediate crude rose 30 cents, or 0.5%, to end at $57.26 a barrel. April Brent added 5 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $67.12 a barrel.

Key Federal Reserve officials said Friday that they are aware of the central bank’s continued effort to shrink its massive holdings of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities.