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NEW YORK, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rose for five consecutive days Friday, with all three major indices refreshing their record highs once more, as investors digested positive economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 142.04 points, or 0.72 percent, to 19,756.85. The S&P 500 climbed 13.34 points, or 0.59 percent, to 2,259.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 27.14 points, or 0.50 percent, to 5,444.50.
U.S consumer sentiment for December hit its highest level since January 2015.
The preliminary reading of the consumer sentiment for December rose to 98.0 from 93.8 in November, said the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment on Friday.
For the week, all three major indices witnessed sharp increases, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq surging 3.1 percent, 3.1 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.
Many analysts attributed much of this week' s gains to the "Trump-rally" as they believed Trump's policies might boost economic growth. As of Friday's close, the Dow has posted gains in 20 of the past 24 sessions and 14 record closes since the election.
Overseas, European equities also rallied Friday after the European Central Bank's decision to leave interest rate unchanged. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange inched up 0.22 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 0.33 percent.
In Asia, Tokyo shares closed higher Friday, with the Nikkei index briefly hitting the 19,000 line for the 1st time this year, due to strong European and U.S. stocks overnight.
