Investing.com - U.S. stocks rose on Friday as bottom fishers snapped up nicely priced technology shares and looked past escalating tensions in Ukraine, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to an all-time high.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 rose 0.20% to close at a record-high 16,583.34, the S&P 500 index rose 0.15%, while the NASDAQ Composite index rose 0.50%.
Technology and biotech shares have taken a beating in recent sessions, as investors have viewed the sector as too frothy, the beneficiaries of ultra-loose monetary policies and Federal Reserve stimulus programs that are tapering now and due to wrap up likely sometime this year.
By Friday, investors felt such momentum shares had fallen too far and jumped in from the sidelines to snap up attractive buys.
Elsewhere, investors looked past escalating tensions in Ukraine.
Pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine ignored a public call by Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone a referendum on self-rule and said they plan to go ahead on Sunday with a vote that some fear could lead to a civil war.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said earlier that the European Union was still struggling to agree on what approach to take on the crisis and added the event was the biggest threat to European security since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Still, U.S. stocks rose on sentiments that the U.S. economy continues to recover and will bolster corporate fundamentals along the way, with consumer discretionary and healthcare companies leading the way.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD), up 0.97%, Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), up 0.88%, and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), up 0.68%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included J P Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), down 0.63%, Dupont Fabros Technology Inc (NYSE:DFT), down 0.46%, and Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), down 0.46%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.62%, France'sCAC 40 fell 0.66%, while Germany's AMUNDI Short DAX 30 (XETRA:C2D) fell 0.27%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 fell 0.36%.