S&P 500, Dow set records; Nasdaq not far behind

Stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to records, after European officials reached a deal to extend Greece's aid for four months.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 0.6 percent to a record 2,110.30 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 154.67 points, or 0.9 percent, to 18,140.44, also an all-time high. The Russell 2000 Index reached a record, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 0.6 percent, up for an eighth straight day to its highest level since March 2000.

“You don't have that uncertainty hanging over the market as we enter the end of the week,” said Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates in Bethlehem. “It's a removal of an obstacle in the way of growth and earnings for companies.”

Friday's close is the first record for the Dow this year. It's been 56 days since the Dow's last all-time high, reached on Dec. 26. The S&P 500 reached its first record of 2015 last week, which had been 46 days since its previous record close.

The Dow climbed to closing records on 38 days in 2014, and on 52 occasions in 2013 as the index recovered from the financial crisis to top its previous high from October 2007 for the first time.

The S&P 500 is up 0.6 percent for the holiday-shortened week. It has gained 2.5 percent this year, trailing all but three of the 24 developed markets tracked by Bloomberg.

Euro-area finance ministers reached an accord that would keep bailout funds flowing to Greece in return for a commitment to meet certain conditions, buying time to work out the detail of longer-term Greek financing.

Talks in Brussels between officials from the 19 euro-area countries concluded Friday evening with an agreement to extend aid to Greece for four months.

The breakthrough in the standoff between Greece and its creditors eases the immediate risk of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government running out of cash as early as next month.

Helping to brighten investors' mood Friday was the Markit Economics preliminary index of U.S. manufacturing, which showed it expanded at a faster pace in February. The index rose to 54.3 from a final reading of 53.9 in January, the London-based group said.

Analysts have cut profit forecasts for S&P 500 members amid a rout in oil prices and a rising dollar. They predict earnings will drop this quarter, compared with December projections for an increase. Of the 88 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings this season, 74 beat projections and 56 percent surpassed sales estimates.

Nine of 10 S&P 500 main groups gained, led by health care and industrials rising at least 0.9 percent. Health care companies advanced for an eighth day, the longest streak in four months.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 6.5 percent to 14.30. The gauge, know as the VIX, fell 15 percent last week and is on track for its biggest monthly decline since July 2010.

More than 6.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 9 percent below the three-month average.

Among stocks making news Friday:

• Intuit Inc. rallied 6.2 percent to an all-time high after reporting a narrower-than-estimated quarterly loss and revenue that exceeded forecasts.

• Ann Inc. rose 4.8 percent as the owner of the Ann Taylor and Loft women's clothing stores is exploring a sale and has reached out to potential buyers in recent weeks, including rival retailers, people with knowledge of the matter said.

• Iron Mountain Inc. fell 5.5 percent, the most in more than a year and a half, after the storage and information management company cut its 2015 outlook, in part to reflect the impact of a stronger U.S. dollar.

• Fannie Mae lost 4.9 percent after reporting a sharp profit decline in the fourth quarter largely because of accounting treatment for billions of dollars in tax credits. Investments in derivatives were primarily responsible for about $2.5 billion of losses in the quarter and $4.8 billion for the full year.