The S&P 500 surpassed the 5,000 mark for the first time in market history.

Stock markets closed in uncharted territory on Friday as the S&P 500 surpassed 5,000 points for the first time in history. The large-cap benchmark closed at 5,027 on Friday, up about 29 points on the day compared to 4,998 on Thursday. In fact, the index reached 5,000 on Thursday in intraday trading, but did not cross 5,000 until Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 1.4% last week, marking its fifth straight week of gains and 14th of 15 weeks in a row in 2024. Year to date, the index is up 5.4% through February 9.

But last week was actually a big week for U.S. markets overall, even beyond the S&P 500.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is also in record territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also had a historic week, hitting new highs on Thursday. The Dow rose 49 points that day and closed at 38,726 on February 8. The Dow actually rose to 38,734 in intraday trading on Friday, taking first place, but fell slightly on the day to 38,672. The Dow rose 0.1% this week. Year to date, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 2.6%.

The Nasdaq Composite didn’t set a record or hit a new high last week, but it came pretty close. The index rose 2.3% to end the week at 15,991 after hitting a high of 16,007 during regular trading hours on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite Index also won for the fifth week in a row. Year to date, the benchmark is up 6.5%.

When the Nasdaq Composite briefly topped 16,000 on Friday, it marked the first time it had reached that level since its all-time high of 16,212 on Nov. 22, 2021. However, that high was achieved in intraday trading. The all-time high for the Nasdaq Composite Index is 16,057, set on November 19, 2021. Essentially, the index has now erased all of the losses incurred during the bear market in late 2021 and 2022.

Could Nasdaq Set a Record This Week?

The market was mixed in Monday morning trading, but the Nasdaq Composite Index hit a high of 16,016 shortly after opening. At the time of this writing, the stock is hovering around 16,000, but with the all-time high less than 60 points away, the Nasdaq Composite could easily set a new closing record this week.

This is a huge week, with quarterly earnings for nearly 1,400 companies reporting. Companies to watch this week include Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) on Monday. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) on Tuesday; Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) on Wednesday; On Thursday, we have Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) and DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG).

There is also major economic news coming out this week: the January Consumer Price Index (CPI) is released on Tuesday. The consensus among analysts is that year-on-year inflation will fall to 2.9%, below 3%, from 3.4% in December.

In fact, if it falls below 3%, it will be the first time since March 2021 that the inflation rate has been below 3%. This could be good for markets because it signals the Fed is moving closer to its 2% inflation target and potentially setting the stage for a rate cut.