U.S. stocks rebounded Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard &Poor’s 500 index back into record territory.
U.S. stocks rebounded Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard &Poor’s 500 index back into record territory.
It was the second record-high close for the Dow this week and the third for the S&P 500. The modest gains erased losses from the day before, pushing the three major stock indexes further ahead for the week.
Good news on housing, the job market and another dash of strong corporate earnings helped drive stocks higher, reversing a decline earlier in the day. Energy stocks led the gainers in the S&P 500 as oil prices rose.
Discouraging economic data out of Europe and China stoked worries of a global economic slowdown and sent stocks lower in early trading. But investors shrugged off those concerns, reassured by a batch of positive U.S. economic reports.
“Housing was good, leading indicators were good, manufacturing was good,” said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at Voya Investment Management.
Traders also drew encouragement from retailers including Best Buy, Dollar Tree and Kirkland’s, which reported better-than-expected earnings. Third-quarter earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are at an all-time high.
“That’s a signal for investors that the fundamentals are solid behind this market,” Cote said.
In the end, the S&P 500 index rose 4.03 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,052.75. That’s just above the index’s previous record-high close on Tuesday at 2,051.80. The S&P 500 is up 11.1 percent this year.
The Dow gained 33.27 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,719. That’s up from its last record-high close of 17,687.82 on Tuesday. The Dow is up 6.9 percent this year.
The Nasdaq composite added 26.16 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,701.87. The tech-heavy index is up 12.6 percent this year.