Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Near New Highs
Microsoft, Nvidia and Coinbase hit new highs. Although initial jobless claims decreased this week, continuing claims rose by 37,000 to a level not seen since 2021.
Updated 5:06 p.m. EDT
Stocks ended higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq coming just short of record highs, as investors looked beyond concerns about tariffs, conflicts, and inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 404.41 points, or 0.94%, to finish the session at 43,386.84, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to close at 6,141.02, bringing its gain on the week to 2.9% and putting it just a few points away from the intraday all-time high hit in late February of 6,147.43, CNBC reported.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.97% to 20,167.91, to end inches away from a new record.
Updated 1:15 p.m. EDT
S&P 500 flirting with record level
Stocks are rising yet again today as traders watch to see if the Standard & Poor's 500 Index can hit a new all-time high.
With 15 minutes to go, it's not that the index will break its Feb. 19 peak of 6,147.43. The index was up 45 points to 6,537.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 362 points to 43,345, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 154 points to 20,166.
The Nasdaq-100 Index, dominated by Big Tech, was up 204 points to 22,401 and hit a new intraday high of 22,444.
Unlike recent days, where tech stocks have fueled the market's gains, today's winners are among materials stocks.
Copper is up 3% today, and Mining and Materials stocks are the leading S&P 500 sector, led by Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) , up 6.8% to $44.57. The reason: Traders are directing copper to the US before the Trump administration imposes new tariffs. 
Not to worry, however. Tech stocks overall were higher. Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA) both hit new highs Thursday morning. So, too, did chip-and-electronics Broadcom AVGO, which was at $270,up 2.1%. Lastly, crypto currency exchange Coinbase (COIN) , reaching $375.42 Thursday afternoon after reaching $382.
In fact, nine of 11 S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by Energy, Materials and Communications Service stocks.. The only decliners: industrial and real estate stocks.
Three reports initially knocked stocks off their best levels:
- Weekly Initial Claims: 236,000, below consensus of 247,000. Continuing claims rose to 1,974,000, the highest level since 2021.
- May Durable Goods Orders: +16.4% beating the 6.6% consensus
- Q1 GDP Estimate Revision: -0.5%, below consensus of -0.2%
The dollar was lower because of Trump's campaign to get the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. An idea, which has been floated for some months now, is to announce who will replace Chairman Jerome Powell next spring when Powell's term ends.
Stock Market Today
What's trading at a new high? The U.S. stock market is. That's what.
Perhaps it's more accurate to say that the U.S. was trading at a new high. S&P 500 futures have been as high as 6171 this morning, beating the old intraday futures high of 6166. The cash S&P 500 trades at a lower level, and the current high from February is 6147.
