Stocks closed modestly higher on Wall Street, enough to push the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its second straight record high.
The middling gains followed a big rally the day before on excitement that several cuts to interest rates may indeed be coming next year.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% Thursday and is within 1.6% of the all-time high it set early last year. The Dow added 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.2%. Treasury yields fell again, a day after the Federal Reserve indicated it may cut rates by more in 2024 than it had earlier forecast.
On Thursday:
The S&P 500 rose 12.46 points, or 0.3%, to 4,719.55
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 158.11 points, or 0.4%, to 37,248.35.
The Nasdaq composite rose 27.59 points, or 0.2%, to 14,761.56.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 53.01 points, or 2.7% to 2,000.51.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is up 115.18 points, or 2.5%.
The Dow is up 1,000.48 points, or 2.8%.
The Nasdaq is up 357.59 points, or 2.5%.
The Russell 2000 is up 119.70 points, or 6.4%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 880.05 points, or 22.9%.
The Dow is up 4,101.10 points, or 12.4%.
The Nasdaq is up 4,295.08 points, or 41%.
The Russell 2000 is up 239.27 points, or 13.6%.