US stocks close mixed as Nasdaq ends 4-week losing streak

• US stocks closed mixed on Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing as economic optimism remained heightened.
• The Nasdaq 100 index managed to snap a 4-week losing streak, closing higher for the week.
• The cryptocurrency decline accelerated on Friday, with bitcoin and ether both falling more than 10%.
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US stocks were mixed on Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average leading the market higher as economic optimism remained heightened.

Despite finishing lower, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index managed to end a four-week losing streak, gaining just more than 0.1% for the five-day period.

Optimism towards an improving US economy increased following the Thursday release of the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index. The April LEI data showed a 17% year-over-year improvement, as well as a 1.6% month-over-month improvement.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET market close on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,155.86, down 0.1%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 34,207.84, up 0.4% (124 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 13,470.99, down 0.5%

Read more: Buy these 20 infrastructure stocks set to crush the market as Congress prepares a multi-trillion-dollar deal, Raymond James says

Cryptocurrencies remained volatile, with declines in bitcoin and ether accelerating to more than 10% on Friday as China continues to warn against the crypto space. The US government is moving towards further regulation of crypto assets. On Thursday, the Treasury Department indicated that the IRS will seek to require any transfer of more than $10,000 in crypto assets to be reported to the department.

Meanwhile, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said it will tackle bad actors in the crypto space and needs to be prepared to fight cases against them. All of this comes following a volatile week for crypto, in which bitcoin and ether fell more than 30% in a single day.

Much of that volatility was initially sparked by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his concerns over its environmental impact. On Thursday, Musk said bitcoin can shake off its bad climate reputation if top miners can prove they're using green energy.

Ford extended its two-day rally to more than 10% after it revealed the electric version of its popular F-150 truck model.

Oil prices were higher. West Texas Intermediate crude rose as much as 3.3%, to $64.07 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, climbed 2.8%, to $66.94 per barrel, at intraday highs.

Gold rose as much as 0.7%, to $1,889.41 per ounce.