NEW YORK -- A slight gain was enough to push the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index to a record Friday.
The S&P 500 rose 8.51 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,096.99. That surpassed the previous record close of 2,090.57 set Dec. 29.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 46.97 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,019.35. The index is still 35 points short of its all-time high. The Nasdaq composite gained 36.22 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,893.84.
A rebound in oil prices helped push energy stocks higher. A report that showed growth picked up faster than forecast in Europe in the fourth quarter of last year also boosted investor sentiment.
Investors were also picking over the latest earnings news. CBS gained after reporting earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations. V.F. Corp. -- a clothing company whose brands include Vans, Wrangler and Timberland -- jumped after giving an upbeat outlook for the year.
Stocks have surged in February, rebounding from a January slump, as recovering oil prices have helped energy stocks. Growing corporate earnings and the announcement of more stimulus to encourage growth in Europe have also helped turn investor sentiment around this month.
"Stability seems to be coming back," said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. "Overall, I think the market is going to go higher ... but it may be a case of two steps forward, one step back."
About three-quarters of the companies in the S&P 500 index have reported results for the fourth quarter, and earnings for the period are projected to rise by 7.5 percent. While that is a decline from growth of 10.4 percent in the previous quarter, it's better than analysts were expecting at the start of December.
On Friday, V.F. Corp. was one of the biggest gainers in the S&P 500. The company gained $4.26, or 6 percent, to $75.26 after reporting it expects "meaningful growth" in all of its markets worldwide, despite challenges because of a strengthening dollar.
CBS was another winner Friday.
The media company gained $2.06, or 3.6 percent, to $59.83 after it reported earnings late Thursday that were slightly better than Wall Street analysts had been expecting. The company saw higher advertising revenue, led by the broadcast of Thursday Night Football and political ad revenue associated with the midterm elections.
ConAgra was one of the biggest losers in the S&P 500 on Friday.
The food company, whose brands include Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix and Slim Jim beef jerky, dropped $1.59, or 4.4 percent, to $34.83 after cutting its earnings outlook for the year late Thursday. ConAgra blamed the effect of a stronger dollar and intense competition for its Private Brands unit.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.57 to $52.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude climbed $2.24 to $61.52 a barrel in London.
In U.S. government bond trading, prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year benchmark government note edged up to 2.04 percent from 1.99 percent on Tuesday.
In metals trading, precious and industrial metals futures closed higher. Gold rose $6.40 to $1,227.10 an ounce, silver jumped 50 cents to $17.29 an ounce, and copper edged up less than a penny to $2.61 a pound.
Business on 02/14/2015