The Dow on Friday was on pace to hit its first record high of the year, reflecting steady optimism on Wall Street despite signs of underlying turbulence in the economy.

All three major stock indexes finished higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbing to fresh records despite bouts of weakness, as traders boosted the chances of 2025 interest-rate cuts.

The benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq hovered near record highs on Wednesday, but the market reflected weakness in some technology stocks after the previous day's strong gains on hopes that the Federal Reserve was getting close to a monetary easing cycle.