New York, NY – The stock market reached record highs on Friday, capping off a strong month for equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both saw gains, with the S&P 500 rising 0.56% to 6,032.38 and the Nasdaq Composite jumping 0.83% to 19,218.17. The Dow climbed 188.59 points, or 0.42%, ending at 44,910.65, setting new intraday and closing highs.

The surge in the market was partly driven by chip stocks, which saw an uptick after reports that the Biden administration was considering new restrictions on semiconductor equipment sales to China. Lam Research rallied over 3%, while Nvidia jumped more than 2%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) also added 1.3%.

A broad advance pushed the S&P 500 into uncharted territory, with three out of every five S&P 500 members finishing the session in the green. Traders are looking ahead to the end of the week and month, with November trading dominated by the post-election rally following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.

The Dow saw a 1.4% increase for the week, bringing its November gain to 7.5%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also advanced, ending the penultimate month of 2024 higher by more than 5% and 6% respectively. The Dow and S&P 500 saw their best months of 2024 with these gains.

The small-cap-focused Russell 2000 outperformed in November, surging 10.8% for the month. Investors are optimistic about the group benefiting from potential tax cuts under Trump. The market has also been buoyed by expectations of declining interest rates, which boost the value of future earnings and support the economy.

Trading was light on Friday as the stock market closed early for the Thanksgiving holiday. Friday’s trading volume was less than two-thirds of the daily average for the past 30 days, reflecting the subdued activity ahead of the holiday weekend.