The Dow dipped fractionally, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gained about two-tenths of a percent.

All three indexes notched their eighth consecutive weekly gains, the longest weekly winning streak for the S&P since late 2017.

The benchmark index is now within 1% of its record close reached in January of 2022. Breaking that level would confirm the S&P has been in a bull market since a low hit in October of that year.

But bumpier times could be in store, says Phillip Colmar, Managing Partner and Global Strategist at MRB Partners.

"The market's been rallying for weeks now on really exiting 2023 on the back of optimism around the Fed (Federal Reserve) and its pivot towards an easier policy. And so while I think that that's been positive, a lot of this Goldilocks scenario is now in the markets, both in the bond market and the equity market. So opening 2024 - probably going to be choppier as we start to digest that."

In economic data, the Commerce Department's personal consumption expenditures, or PCE report, out Friday, showed inflation continues to ease down toward the Fed's average annual 2% target, reinforcing the belief that the central bank could begin cutting rates as early as March.

In company news, shares of Nike tumbled 12% after the sportswear maker trimmed its annual sales forecast due to cautious consumer spending. Peers Foot Locker and Dick's Sporting Goods shed 2.7% and 3.9%, respectively.

And Karuna Therapeutics soared nearly 48% in the wake of Bristol Myers Squib's agreement to acquire the drugmaker for $14 billion in cash.

U.S. markets are closed Monday for the Christmas holiday.