Major Averages Close Firmly Positive, S&P 500 Sets Record High

(RTTNews) - While buying interest was somewhat subdued, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday. With the upward move on the day, the S&P 500 managed to end the session at a new record closing high.

Telecom stocks saw considerable strength on the day, resulting in a 1.5 percent gain by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index. The gain by the index came after it closed lower for four consecutive sessions.

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) and Sprint (S) turned in two of the telecom sector's best performances, advancing by 4.3 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

Significant strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.

Computer hardware, software, and tobacco stocks also turned in strong performances on the day, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves move.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory, near their best levels of the session. The Dow rose 74.24 points or 0.5 percent to 16,272.65, the Nasdaq advanced 26.87 points or 0.6 percent to 4,318.93 and the S&P 500 climbed 9.13 points or 0.5 percent to 1,854.29.