Dow Breaks Record Again

Wall Street rose modestly Thursday, nudging the Dow Jones industrial average to its third straight record high close as investors welcomed upbeat retail sales and jobless claims figures.
Rising oil prices didn’t smother investors’ good mood.
Stocks pulled back briefly after Charles Plosser, the newly installed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, signaled that further Fed interest rate increases may be in the best interests of the economy’s long-term performance.
The blue chips have gained 196.34 over the past three sessions; on Tuesday, the index shattered closing and trading highs that had stood since Jan. 24, 2000, toward the end of the dot-com boom.
Bonds fell as stocks wavered, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note at 4.61 percent, up from 4.56 percent Thursday. The U.S. dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies. Gold prices rose.
Crude oil futures rose. A barrel of light crude settled at $60.03, up 62 cents in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Some traders have questioned the depth of the rally, saying technical markers such as the ratio of advancers to decliners are weaker than they’ve hoped. And while the Dow has recovered, the S&P 500 still remains more than 11 percent off its all-time high.
Other traders say the market’s biggest fears — high energy prices and additional rate increases by the Federal Reserve — are behind it, leaving room for a greater run-up in stock prices.
Hugh Johnson, chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors, said he sees this as a stock market in the more advanced stages of a recovery that has been driven, in large part, by declining energy prices.