New York – Wall Street stocks rose modestly Thursday, nudging the Dow Jones industrial average to its third straight record-high close as investors welcomed upbeat retail-sales and jobless-claims figures.
The Dow closed at 11,866.69, surpassing the record of 11,850.61 set Wednesday. The blue-chip index traded up to 11,870.06, which stands as its trading high.
Rising oil prices didn’t smother investors’ good mood. A barrel of light crude settled at $60.03, up 62 cents, in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“Considering the distance we’ve come over the last three months and certainly the last three days, it’s interesting we could have a data point like oil’s climb and not have the market back up much,” said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.
Stocks pulled back briefly after Charles Plosser, the newly installed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, signaled that further Fed interest-rate hikes may be in the best interests of the economy’s long-term performance.
The Dow rose 16.08, or 0.14 percent. The blue chips have gained 196.34 over the past three sessions; on Tuesday, the index shattered closing and trading highs that had stood since Jan. 14, 2000, toward the end of the dot-com boom.
Broader stock indicators were also higher Thursday. The S&P 500 index rose 3.00, or 0.22 percent, to 1,353.22, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 15.39, or 0.67 percent, to 2,306.34.
Advancing issues led decliners by roughly 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The day’s economic news was stronger than expected, with retailers such as Target Corp., Nordstrom Inc. and Limited Brands Inc. reporting that their same-store sales in September surpassed analysts’ forecasts. Also, the number of new unemployment claims dropped to its lowest level in 10 weeks.
