Dow Jones and S&P 500 log new record close

The main US stock benchmarks closed higher on Friday, as optimism about the US economy continued.

More US states are taking measures to ease lockdown restrictions as more Covid-19 vaccines are being distributed.

The International Monetary Fund raised its projections for the global GDP to grow by 6% in 2021.

The IMF also estimated the US economy to grow to 6.4% in 2021 based on the Federal Reserve's forecasts.

Data showed that the US producer price index rose 1% in March, beating forecasts of a rise by 0.5%.

To the oil market, WTI crude May futures fell 0.5% or 28 cents, and closed at $59.32 a barrel, and posted a weekly loss of 3.5%, after hitting a high of $59.9 and a low of $59.1.

Brent May futures fell 0.4% or 25 cents, and closed at $62.95 a barrel, and posted a weekly loss of 2.9%, after hitting a high of $63.4 and a low of $62.5.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 0.9% or 297 points, and closed at 33,800, with a weekly gain of 2%, a day high of 33,810, and a low of 33,526.

Nasdaq rose 0.5% or 70 points to 13,900, but registered a 3.1% weekly gain, with a high of 13,905 and a low of 13,748.

S&P 500 rose 0.7% or 31 points to 4,128, and posted a weekly gain of 2.7%, after hitting a high of 4,129 and a low of 4,095.