NEW YORK — Technology companies lifted the stock market Wednesday, keeping major indexes at record levels. ADVERTISING NEW YORK — Technology companies lifted the stock market Wednesday, keeping major indexes at record levels. Hewlett-Packard surged, leading the gains for tech
NEW YORK — Technology companies lifted the stock market Wednesday, keeping major indexes at record levels.
Hewlett-Packard surged, leading the gains for tech companies, after it posted a $1.4 billion profit for its latest quarter. The world’s second-largest maker of PCs also issued a strong profit forecast for its current quarter.
Stocks also got a boost from some encouraging news about the U.S. economy.
In a sign that workers are in less danger of being laid off, the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 316,000, according to the U.S. Labor Department. In another bit of good news, consumer confidence rose in November, according to a private survey by the University of Michigan and financial data company Thomson Reuters.
The stock market has surged this year on a combination of solid corporate earnings, a slowly recovering economy and easy-money policies from the Federal Reserve. The Fed is buying $85 billion in bonds every month to keep long-term interest rates low, making stocks more attractive than bonds for investors.
On Wednesday, the Standard &Poor’s 500 index climbed four points, or 0.3 percent, to close at an all-time high of 1,807.23.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 24 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at its own record high of 16,097.33. The blue-chip index finished higher for a fifth straight day, its longest winning streak since March.
The Nasdaq composite advanced 27 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,044.75. The index closed above 4,000 for the first time in 13 years Tuesday.
Trading volumes were lower than average ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
