Ho! Ho! Ho! Dow, S&P end at record highs
Markets got into the holiday spirit Friday after the U.S. government said economic activity ramped up significantly in the third quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed higher, with the Dow and S&P both at record highs. The Nasdaq finished up 1%, and topped the 4,100 mark for the first time since September 2000.
Gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of economic activity -- grew at a 4.1% annual pace in the third quarter, up from the 2.8% pace that was originally reported in November. The revised GDP figure shows the highest rate of growth for the economy since the last quarter of 2011, and comes just days after the Federal Reserve started pulling back on its economic stimulus by $10 billion per month.
Friday's gains put the market into positive territory for the week and month. After a bumpy start to December, stocks are finally experiencing a so-called Santa Claus rally, moving higher at the end of the year.
If stocks continue to head higher next week, it may have to do so quietly. Volume is expected to extremely light as the market is only open for a half-day trading on Tuesday (Christmas Eve) and is closed on Wednesday for Christmas.
Related: Federal Reserve assets now top $4 trillion
What's moving: BlackBerry (BBRY) shares jumped 15% in volatile trading, after the company reported a steeper-than-expected $4.4 billion loss and a 56% drop in quarterly sales.
The struggling smart phone maker also announced a five-year strategic partnership with electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn. Still, interim CEO John Chen was optimistic during a conference call with analysts and expressed confidence that the company could turn around.
"$BBRY Take your profits, we have had these jumps before," said StockTwits trader AKEB, who seemed skeptical that Friday's surge was justified.
But StockTwits user killer4482 was more bullish.
"$BBRY the bottom has been found and we are now on our way up," he said.