S&P 500 hits record high as investors digest highest inflation in 4 decades

• Major indexes ender higher Friday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high.
• Investors looked past the November annual inflation reading of 6.8%, the highest rate in 39 years.

US stocks finished higher Friday, with investors pushing the S&P 500 to a record high after US consumer price inflation reached its highest in 39 years but largely met expectations.

The S&P 500 notched gains for all 11 of its sectors. Investors seemingly brushed past the Bureau of Labor Statistics report early Friday that said annual CPI rose to 6.8% year-over-year in November. The print was slightly above the consensus forecast of 6.7% from a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Friday's jump left all major indexes with gains for the week.

Here's where US indexes stood at 4:00 p.m. on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,712.02, up 0.95%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,970.99, up 0.6% (216.30 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,630.60, up 0.73%

"This report has been somewhat de-risked because of the market's adjustment to nearly pricing in 3 rate hikes by year-end 2022," said Barry Gilbert, asset allocation strategist at LPL Financial in a note.

"Bottom line, we see a first-quarter peak in inflation, Fed bond purchases to end in March/April, and [Fed] liftoff potentially in September 2022. However, further progress balancing labor supply and resolution of supply chain disruptions that generate more persistent elevated inflation than we anticipate could potentially pull the Fed's timetable forward."

The Federal Reserve's rate-setting body will meet for the last time in 2021 next week.

Around the markets, oil prices rose. West Texas Intermediate crude turned higher, up 0.5% at $71.32 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 0.3% at $75.37.

Gold gained 0.4% to $1,782.53 per ounce. The 10-year yield lost 2 basis points, moving to 1.5008%.

Bitcoin rose 1%, at $48,275.81.