US Markets End The Week On High

The closes mark the fourth straight weekly gains for the Dow and S&P and the third for the Nasdaq.

Analysts said the gains reflected a continuation of the optimism following a report on Thursday that the United States was considering lifting tariffs on China as a step to win a broader trade agreement.

After a bruising December, US stocks have been in rally mode in early 2019 amid optimism on trade and relief at Federal Reserve commentary suggesting a cautious approach to further interest rate hikes.

There's "definitely rising optimism" of a trade deal, said LBBW's Karl Haeling.

"There are kind of smoke signals and when there is smoke there is fire," Haeling said. "It seems that Trump sees the weakening of the economy and the shutdown situation. He seems to be doing something to get a win here."

Shares of US companies with significant China operations gained, including Dow member Boeing, Caterpillar and Nike.

The positive tone on the China talks also helped Tiffany, which jumped 5.4 percent despite releasing lacklustre holiday sales figures. (AFP)