The U.S. stock market rose to the edge of its all-time high.
The S&P 500 added 0.2% Friday and finished just shy of its record closing level, which was set in October. It had briefly topped the mark during the day, before paring its gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3%.
The modest moves capped a quiet week for Wall Street, offering a respite following weeks of sharp and scary swings. Ulta Beauty helped lead the market after delivering a better profit than analysts expected and offering encouraging signals about the holiday shopping season.
On Friday:
The S&P 500 rose 13.28 points, or 0.2%, to 6,870.40.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 104.05 points, or 0.2%, to 47,954.99.
The Nasdaq composite rose 72.99 points, or 0.3%, to 23,578.13.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 9.67 points, or 0.4%, to 2,521.48.