Stocks Ended on a Higher Note and Posted Weekly Gains

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing out the session at record levels. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 27.70 points, or 0.09%, to 31,458.40. The S&P 500 added 18.45 points, or 0.47%, to 3,934.83. The Nasdaq Composite gained 69.70 points, or 0.50%, to 14,095.47. For the week, the Dow was up 1%, the S&P 500 gained 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite booked a 1.7% weekly advance.

Oil futures got a boost on Friday from rising tensions between the Iran-backed Houthis rebels and Saudi Arabia, prompting prices for global benchmark crude to tally a gain of more than 5% for the week. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery tacked on $1.23, or 2.1%, to settle at $59.47 a barrel and rose 4.6% for the week. April Brent crude rose $1.29, or 2.1%, to end at $62.43 a barrel, leaving it up 5.2% for the week.