NEW YORK (CNM) -- The Dow Jones industrial average rose 112.40 points Friday to close at 11,257.43, its fourth record of the month, led by gains in technology, retail and, curiously, companies that make canned soup.
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| The Dow industrials over the past month |
The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index also set a record, rising 68 points to 3,742. Trading volume was heavy as many investors repositioned portfolios before the year-end holiday.
"The market has decided Y2K is a non-event," said Walter Quigg, chief strategist at the brokerage Quigg Lammerding. "Or it has decided that if Y2K is an event, there is nothing to do about it, so you might as well buy."
Bond prices fell slightly. Gold was little changed, despite strong demand at a Cotterville, Kansas, coin shop where the owner said customers were "buying it in small bars, like chocolate."
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