NEW YORK — The Dow Jones industrial average edged up to a fresh two-year closing high Thursday while other measures slipped following a mixed bag of economic data that left investors with little reason to make major position changes ahead of the holiday.
The Dow rose 14 points, or 0.1 percent, to 11,573.49, its highest closing level since August 2008. Alcoa Inc. led its climb with a 1.3 percent rise. Chevron Corp. was also strong, up 0.9 percent, and Exxon Mobil Corp. added 0.6 percent, boosted by a climb in crude-oil futures to fresh two-year highs above $91 a barrel.
Thursday marked the conclusion of a positive week for stocks, with the Dow up 0.7 percent on the week, the S&P 500 up 1 percent and the Nasdaq up 0.9 percent, adding to their gains for the month. It was the fourth straight week of gains for the Dow and the S&P 500, and the fifth for the Nasdaq.
Limiting the Dow’s ascent, Bank of America Corp. fell 2.4 percent, one day after jumping 3.2 percent. Walt Disney Co. was also weak, off 0.7 percent, while Travelers Co. slipped 0.7 percent.
The Nasdaq composite fell 5.88, or 0.2 percent, to 2,665.60. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index shed 2.07, or 0.2 percent, to 1256.77, with financials leading to the downside in a small pullback from the sector’s Wednesday rally while energy and materials stocks rose.
The activity followed a mixed round of economic data with few surprises, prompting investors to see little need to change their positions heading into the holiday.
While durable-goods orders fell more than twice the drop that was projected by economists, they were weighed down by a 53.1 percent plunge in commercial airplane orders. New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft — a metric that is considered a key barometer of capital spending — rose 2.6 percent, an indication businesses are spending as the economy recovers.
Also encouraging, the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index’s final reading for December edged higher, meeting expectations.
