The stock market recovered from an afternoon stumble Thursday and ended with some modest gains, enough to mark more record highs for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite.
Investors had a fresh batch of economic data to weigh as they gauge the economic recovery, but much of the focus will be on a key employment report from the Labor Department on Friday.
Trading remains quiet as the summer holiday season comes to a close and Wall Street heads into a three-day holiday weekend. Activity is expected to pick up next week once traders are back from vacation. Typically September is one of the market’s more volatile months.
The S&P 500 rose 12.86 points, or 0.3%, to 4,536.95, topping a record set Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 131.29 points, or 0.4%, to 35,443.82. The Nasdaq rose 21.80, or 0.1%, to 15,331.18, also setting a record.
Small-company stocks fared better than the rest of the market in a sign that investors are feeling encouraged about the prospects for the economy. The Russell 2000 index rose 16.96 points, or 0.7%, to 2,304.02.
Health care companies made broad gains and energy stocks gained ground on a 2% jump in oil prices. Insurer Anthem rose 3.7%, and Exxon Mobil rose 2.4%. Technology and communications stocks slipped.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 340,000, a pandemic low and another sign that the job market is steadily rebounding from the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s a preview of what traders are waiting for Friday, when they will get the August jobs report from the Labor Department. Economists are expecting that U.S. employers created 750,000 jobs last month, pushing the unemployment rate down to 5.2%.
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