US stocks rise as S&P 500 sails past 5,000, boosted by cooling inflation data

• US stocks ended higher Friday, with the S&P 500 jumping past the key milestone of 5,000. 
• Revised CPI data released Friday showed inflation cooled in December more than initially reported. 
• “We think this is a pretty strong sign that we’re still in a bull market,” a strategist said. 

US stocks were up on Friday with the S&P 500 ending the day past the key psychological mark of 5,000.

The benchmark index punched through 5,000 first on Thursday, closing the day just shy at 4,997. After revised consumer price index data released Friday that showed inflation cooled more than initially reported in December, the index pushed to new highs, climbing as high as 5,029 during the trading day.

Stocks capped off the week with the fifth straight weekly gain. 

“What does 5000 mean? On the surface, not a whole lot, we know that. But psychologically is really what matters,” Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist from the Carson Group, said on Bloomberg TV on Friday. 

Usually, in the six months after psychological levels are breached, the S&P 500 has never dipped lower, Detrick said. If anything, it provides a fresh catalyst for stocks to continue rallying

“We think this is a pretty strong sign that we’re still in a bull market, we’ve said that for a while, and get on the ride,” he said. “It’s a fun ride.”

Here’s where US indexes stood at the closing bell at 4:00 p.m. on Friday: 

• S&P 500: 5,026.61, up 0.57% 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,671.69, down 0.14%
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,990.66, up 1.25% 

Here’s what else is going on:

• Nvidia is now worth as much as the whole Chinese stock market.
• The commercial real estate crisis will prompt the Fed’s first rate cut in May, top economist says.
• Vladimir Putin takes aim at the US dollar’s dominant position as the world’s reserve currency.
• China turmoil poses a risk to the Magnificent 7, Jeremy Grantham’s GMO says.
• Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel says the stock market still has 8% upside — and highlights where investors should put their money to capitalize.
• Bitcoin’s sudden rebound keeps the $100,000 threshold in reach by year-end, Standard Chartered says

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• Oil prices rose, with West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.38% to $76.51 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was also up by 0.34% to $81.91 a barrel.
• Gold slipped 0.38% to $2,040.10 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield ticked slightly higher to 4.177%.
• Bitcoin climbed 4.75% to $47,680.75.