The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 59 new highs and 43 new lows.<br />(Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed out their sixth straight week of gains with a flat session after Janet Yellen<br />signaled the Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates this month if employment and other economic data hold up.<br />The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 2.74 points, or 0.01 percent, to 21,005.71, the S&P 500 gained 1.2 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,383.12<br />and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.53 points, or 0.16 percent, to 5,870.75.<br />Investors expected Yellen to signal a rate hike after a large number of Fed officials, including<br />those typically dovish on rates, appeared this week to stoke expectations of a rate increase.<br />Financial stocks, which benefit from higher rates, closed up 0.4 percent on Friday after Yellen’s comments<br />and were among the best-performing S&P 500 sectors, while real estate was the worst performer, down 0.4 percent.<br />Strategists said the Fed Chair’s comments likely cement a rate hike at the Fed’s March 14-15 meeting.
