U.S. stock indexes rose toward fresh records Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting 34000 for the first time.
Strong earnings reports and improving economic data pushed the Dow up 0.8%, to about 34005 in afternoon trading. The S&P 500 gained 1%, putting both indexes on pace for record closes.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.2% as shares of big tech stocks rallied.
A powerful rally has pushed stocks to repeated highs in 2021, and many investors believe the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines and plentiful government spending suggest shares have room to keep rising. The S&P 500 and Dow are both up about 11% for the year.
Investors will monitor earnings reports in the coming weeks as they assess how the outlook for corporate earnings aligns with increasingly high stock prices. Analysts expect that earnings among companies in the S&P 500 jumped 29% in the first quarter from the same period a year earlier, according to FactSet.
