U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday as Wall Street remained positive about the Federal Reserve's plan to trim its balance sheet, while tech stocks climbed.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 70.06 points to 21,082.48, to within half a percentage point of its all-time high, with UnitedHealth leading advancers and General Electric lagging
The S&P 500 climbed 10.68 points to 2,415.07, rising above its previous record of 2,405.77, with consumer discretionary leading nine sectors higher and energy and materials as the only decliners.
The NASDAQ popped 42.23 points to 6,205.26, climbing over the previous peak of 6,170.16, as Netflix, Alphabet, and Facebook shares all rose. Amazon also rose, nearing the $1,000-per-share mark.
According to the minutes from its May 3 meeting, which were released Wednesday, the Fed sees a system where it will announce cap limits on how much it will allow to roll off each month without reinvesting.
Investors also kept an eye on oil prices after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to extend production cuts by nine months. That disappointed some investors, who had hoped that OPEC might reduce output even further to drain a global glut that has depressed markets for almost three years.
In economic news, jobless claims hit 234,000 last week, rising slightly from the previous week, but remained near their lowest levels in more than 40 years.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note recovered, lowering yields to Wednesday's 2.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices dropped $2.68 at $48.68 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $2.40 at $1,257.10 U.S. an ounce.
Source: Baystreet US Market Commentary
(May 25, 2017 - 4:30 PM EDT)
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