Wall Street capped another week of gains with more milestones, as strength in technology and health care stocks helped push the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to all-time highs.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8 per cent for its fourth record high this week and third straight weekly gain. It sets up the Australian sharemarket to edge higher on Monday morning, with futures pointing to a rise of 6 points at the open.

Stocks have benefited as bond yields, which had been steadily ticking higher, retreated from highs hit earlier in the month. Higher yields can slow down the economy by pushing up interest rates, making it more expensive for people and businesses to borrow money. Bond yields rose on Friday, but that didn’t weigh on stocks.

“The S&P 500 finished at another all-time high today as investors have become comfortable enough with the current level of interest rates and inflation to keep putting money into equities,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance.

A late-afternoon burst of buying pushed the major stock indexes higher. The S&P 500 rose 31.63 points to 4,128.80. The Dow gained 297.03 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 33,800.60. The Nasdaq composite picked up 70.88 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 13,900.19.

Small company stocks, which have outgained the broader market this year, lagged behind on Friday. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies inched up 0.88 points, or less than 0.1 per cent, to 2,243.47. Still, the index is up 13.6 per cent so far this year, while the S&P 500, which tracks large companies, is up 9.9 per cent.

Big Tech stocks were among the better performers. Apple rose 2 per cent, Microsoft gained 1 per cent and Intel added 1.8 per cent. Health care companies also helped lift the market. UnitedHealth climbed 3.1 per cent and Cigna rose 3.3 per cent.

Financial companies also rose, aided by the rise in bond yields, which translates into higher interest rates lenders can charge on mortgages and other loans. State Street gained 2.4 per cent and Wells Fargo added 1.2 per cent.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other loans, rose to 1.66 per cent from 1.63 per cent late Thursday. It had been as high as 1.75 per cent on Monday.