U.S. stocks finished off their best month in a year on Friday, with the Dow and S&P 500 clinching fresh record closing highs to cap off a blockbuster November. The Russell 2000 finished Friday just shy of what would have been its first record close since November 2021.

Stocks closed with solid gains as Wall Street put the finishing touches on one of its best months of the year.

Stocks opened Friday in positive territory and stayed there through the early close. Volume was understandably light on Black Friday, but those who did show up for the abbreviated session were in the mood to buy tech stocks,

"There were some warning signs from Target, but if you look at personal income and retail sales, they have been strong all year," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, in an interview. "That suggests the consumer has buying power."

Stocks posted solid gains as Wall Street put the finishing touches on its best monthly performance of the year. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%. Both indexes closed out November with their best monthly performances of the year.

U.S. stocks rose Monday, with those benefiting the most from lower interest rates and a stronger economy leading the way. The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% to pull closer to its all-time high set two weeks ago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 55.39 points or 0.1% to end at 43,389.60 for its third straight daily loss, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 rose 23.00 points or 0.4% to finish at 5,893.62. The Nasdaq Composite gained 111.69 points or 0.6% to close at 18791.81.