U.S. stocks approached a new record Thursday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and is just 0.05% below its all-time closing high, which was set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 0.9%, and the Nasdaq gained 1%.
McCormick helped lead the market after the seller of cooking spices delivered a better-than-expected profit report. Treasury yields eased in the bond market following a couple of better-than-expected reports on the U.S. economy, including on jobless claims and orders for long-lasting manufactured goods. Stock indexes were mixed across much of Europe and Asia.
On Thursday:
The S&P 500 rose 48.86 points, or 0.8%, to 6,141.02.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 404.41 points, or 0.9%, to 43,386.84.
The Nasdaq composite rose 194.36 points, or 1%, to 20,167.91.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 35.92 points, or 1.7%, to 2,172.11.