The Dow Jones Industrial Average staged a late-afternoon rally Thursday to again close at a record high, as investors brushed past rising oil prices and embraced strong reports from major retailers.
After spending most of the session below the flatline, the Dow closed up 16.08 points, or 0.14%, at 11,866.69. The S&P 500 tacked on 3 points, or 0.22%, to 1353.22. The Nasdaq Composite was higher by 15.39 points, or 0.67%, at 2306.34.
Caterpillar (CAT - news - Cramers Take) provided support for the Dow, adding 4.1% to $68.24. Starbucks (SBUX - news - Cramers Take) helped to boost the Nasdaq, surging 7.6% for the day.
"The Dow has continued to move higher, reflecting the fact that investors are continuing to put funds into the market," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist with Spencer Clarke LLC. "Most investors probably expected the market to tread water, given the jump of oil prices today, so this is a bit of a surprise."
Crude was back on the rise Thursday after reports that OPEC will cut oil production by 1 million barrels a day as soon as possible. The worlds biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, is lowering its production by 300,000 barrels a day from last month.
Oil futures ended higher by 62 cents, to $60.03 a barrel, off the session high of $60.97.
Trading volume and breadth were down slightly from Wednesday. About 2.73 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange. Advancers beat decliners by a 2-to-1 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq was roughly 1.95 billion shares, with winners beating losers 2 to 1.
On Wednesday, a broad-based rally led the major U.S. averages to impressive gains. After a slow open, the Dow surged 123.27 points, or 1.05%, to 11,850.61. The S&P jumped 16.11 points, or 1.21%, to 1350.22, and the Nasdaq soared 47.30 points, or 2.11%, to 2290.95.
