Stocks ended higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing at records as investors appeared to cheer economic data and a continued run of upbeat corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
rose around 332 points, or 1.1%, to close near 31,056, according to preliminary figures. The S&P 500
SPX,
advanced around 42 points, or 1.1%, to finish near 3,871, while the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
gained around 167 points, or 1.2%, to end near 13,778; both indexes took out previous record finishes set on Jan. 25. First-time claims for unemployment benefits remained elevated, but fell to a nine-week low of 779,000 last week, the Labor Department reported. Shares of Ebay Inc.
EBAY,
jumped more than 5% after the online marketplace delivered results that beat expectations.
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