The Dow on Friday was on pace to close at its first record high of the year, reflecting steady optimism on Wall Street despite signs of underlying turbulence in the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 248.7 points, the S&P 500 rose 8.8 points, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3 points

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time intraday high on Friday, making it the last of the three major U.S. indexes to clinch a record in Wall Street's rally fueled by the prospect of a looser monetary policy,