By Yashaswini Swamynathan
REUTERS - Major U.S. stock indexes took aim at record highs for the third straight day on Friday as a post-election rally showed no signs of abating.
The "Trump rally" has been running since the Nov. 8 vote as investors bet President-elect Donald Trump's policies will boost economic growth and inflation.
The three main U.S. indexes closed at record levels for the second day in a row on Thursday, while the small cap Russell 2000 and the Dow Transport hit all-time highs.
Adding to the upbeat mood in the past weeks has been a spate of robust economic data, including on monthly hiring numbers, GDP growth and inflation, which have underscored the economy's strength.
With the rally about to enter its second month, valuations may come under scrutiny.
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The S&P 500 is currently trading at about 17.5 times forward twelve-month earnings, above the 10-year median of nearly 15 times, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.
"We are leaning in the direction of going up, and at some point it will get too much, but apparently the market is telling us that today is not too much," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst, Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
Oil prices rose 0.7 percent, up for the second day in a row, on optimism that a non-OPEC producers meeting would result in an agreement to bolster the group's output cut deal.
Data on tap for Friday is a preliminary reading of the consumer sentiment index for December, which is expected to hit 94.5 after rising to a 6-month high the previous month. The report is due at 10:00 a.m. ET (1500 GMT).
The resilience of the stock market will be put to test after the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week, where traders expect a 94 percent chance of an interest rate increase.
Dow e-minis were up 23 points, or 0.12 percent at 8:15 a.m. ET, with 9,371 contracts changing hands.
S&P 500 e-minis were up 1 point, or 0.04 percent, with 88,063 contracts traded.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 9.25 points, or 0.19 percent, on volume of 10,878 contracts.
Among stocks, Restoration Hardware plunged 17.80 percent to $32.05 premarket after the furniture retailer lowered its fourth-quarter profit forecast, citing slow sales in the holiday period.
Wynn Resorts rose 7.5 percent to $95 after Macau, the world's biggest gambling hub, clarified it had not tightened daily cash withdrawal limits for Chinese gamblers.
Broadcom rose 5.7 percent to $180.50 after the chipmaker reported upbeat fourth-quarter results and forecast, and doubled its dividend.
Biogen rose 4.3 percent to $302.10 following a study that showed higher doses of its Alzheimer's drug appeared to reduce the risk of brain swelling.
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)