After the Bell: Stocks Post Record Closes

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Stocks closed higher on Friday, with all three of the major indices posting record closes, while trader's kept tabs on France's presidential election. The S&P 500 gained 3, the NASDAQ added 23 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up nearly 5 points, settling to 20,624.

"You have optimism on less regulations, lower taxes and better corporate profit margins, but there is more to it than that," said Michael Cuggino, president and portfolio manager at Permanent Portfolio Funds. "If you look at the economic data points that have certainly been strengthening towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year, whether its employment or corporate profits, I think that those factors are just as significant as the anticipation going forward underpinning the stock market and the run that we have had to start the new year."