Dow Jones at third straight high

The Dow Jones has hit 30 records since October

The Dow Jones Industrial Average index hit an all-time closing high, marking a record for the third day in a row.

The index only rose 2.5 points, or 0.02%, to end at 12,767.57, but this beat Thursday's close of 12,765.01.

Investor confidence, buoyed by Federal Reserve comments on Wednesday and Thursday suggesting inflation was in check, continued to boost the market.

Data on Friday showed wholesale prices saw their biggest fall in three months, further bolstering confidence.

The fall in wholesale prices had been largely due to falling energy prices.

Many highs

The record closing levels for two previous sessions had been prompted by the head of the bank, Ben Bernanke, testifying on the state of the US economy, and painting a broadly optimistic picture.

Even though he did not rule out interest rate rises, his comments bolstered investor confidence and led the market to think interest rates will be left on hold, rather than increased.

Main gainers by close of trade Friday in advance of the long weekend, included Dupont, up 1.5%, and Merck, 0.9% stronger.

Friday's new record however was a late recovery after some weak economic news and a cautionary statement from Microsoft had caused a volatile session.

Microsoft's Chief Executive Steve Balmer said late on Thursday that analysts' sales forecasts for Windows' new operating system, Vista, were "overly aggressive", making the firm one of the main fallers, ending 2.4% lower

Though the wholesale price figures were greeted positively, other data showed a continued slowdown in the housing market, as the number of new homes in January fell to their lowest level in nearly a decade.

The new high means the Dow Jones Industrial Average has hit 30 records since the beginning of October, including three just this week.