Wall Street rockets in final hours, S&P 500 clinches record high

4:15pm: Reopening plays gain traction among traders The Dow surged as trading wound down for the week, closing up 453 points, 1.4%, at 33,073. The Nasdaq Composite, after a brief dip in the red, gained 161 points, 1.2%, to 13,139, and the S&P 500 added 65 points, 1.7%, to 3,975, a record close Stocks thought of as reopening plays gained ground. United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) shares improved 1.4% to $56.83, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) stock rose 3.1% to $26.85. 12:30pm: Big banks gain after Fed dividend/buyback announcement The Dow was up 162 points, 0.5%, to 32,782 in early afternoon trading. The Nasdaq Composite improved 44 points, 0.3%, to 13,022, and the S&P 500 added 25 points, 0.6%, to 3,934.  "Global markets are finishing the week on a stronger note overall, having started to rebound yesterday on Wall Street, a move that carried over into the Asian session and then on to Europe," IG Chief Market Analyst Chris Beauchamp wrote riday. "Wall Street has continued the run, although the looming end of the month and quarter will mean that is hard to derive a firm conclusion on the direction of risk appetite." Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) stock gained 1.5% to $38.23, and JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) shares improved 0.6% to $153.41 after the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that banks will be able to resume issuing buybacks and paying dividends at normal levels beginning June 30, according to CNBC. 10am: Proactive North America headlines:  CleanSpark Inc (NASDAQ:CLSK) buys 4,778 more Bitcoin mining rigs, works toward carbon-free mining Naturally Splendid (CVE:NSP) (OTCMKTS:NSPDF) (FRA:50N)  appoints digital marketing veteran Kris Tarr as VP of e-commerce Lucky Minerals Inc (TSXV:LKY) (OTCPINK:LKMNF) (FRA:LKY) taps venture capital veteran Diane Mann to serve as corporate secretary First Cobalt Corp (CVE:FCC) (OTCQX:FTSSF) (FRA:18P) strikes amended loan deal with giant Glencore; to pay off debt with shares Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc (TSX:TBP)(OTCQB:TBPMF)(FRA:JAM1)  initiates additional studies on lead drug candidate ARDS-003 Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI) prices underwritten public offering at $20.50 per share, with gross proceeds expected to be approximately $85M 9.42am: Wall Street on the front foot Wall Street managed to make a positive start to Friday’s session as traders looked to end a turbulent week on a high note. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.54% at 32,795 while the S&P 500 climbed 0.41% to 3,925 and the Nasdaq rose 0.15% to 12,997. The uptick appears to be related to a rise in post-pandemic optimism after US president Joe Biden doubled the country’s vaccination target for his first 100 days in office, while softer personal consumption expenditure data has somewhat allayed inflation fears. Another piece of good news came from the Fed as it said the restrictions on bank dividends and share repurchases will end after June 30, providing a boost for financial stocks. 8:00am: Wall Street to open mixed The main indices on Wall Street are heading for a mixed start on Friday morning as markets continue to ponder the ongoing blockage of the Suez Canal by a grounded supertanker. US futures are expecting the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 to move higher at the opening bell, while the Nasdaq is expected to open in the red. “Front of mind for the market is the matter of the Suez Canal being blocked, potentially for many more days. What’s important is how that might affect global trade and the fact it is already causing shipping rates to rise, which in turn could fuel inflation as extra costs are passed on to the consumer,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “This all suggests we remain at a fragile point for markets and one that could lead to heightened volatility”, he added. One such victim of the turmoil hitting the shipping markets is industrial equipment group Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which has said it is experiencing delays of part shipments and may need to airlift some components to where they are needed, which is reportedly costing around US$400mln in delays. Three things to watch for on Friday: WeWork is back in the headlines after announcing plans to go public through a US$9bn SPAC merger Similarly, indoor agriculture specialist AeroFarms is also listing through a SPAC merger valued at US$1.2bn, continuing the recent trend of reverse takeover floats On the macro front, US personal spending and incomes data will be in focus as well as trade balance info and the latest Michigan consumer sentiment expectations for March