U.S. stocks rebounded Thursday, snapping a three-day losing streak for the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
Encouraging data on the U.S. job market and inflation helped lift the market, pushing the S&P 500 to a record high. The Dow came within 36 points of its own record. The indexes are up for the month and year.
Technology and consumer staples stocks were among the biggest gainers. The price of U.S. oil fell on continuing concerns about high global supplies.
The Dow rose 191.75 points, or 1.1 percent, to 18,252.24. The S&P 500 index gained 22.62 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,121.10. That's three points higher than its previous closing high of 2,117.69 on April 24.
The Nasdaq composite added 69.10 points, or 1.4 percent, to 5,050.80.
The 10 sectors in the S&P 500 closed higher, with technology stocks leading the pack. The sector is up 4.8 percent this year.
"We've been at roughly this level of the S&P for almost three months," said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas. "We're up 1 percent today and that's a decent move."
After a mostly downbeat week in the markets, trading got off to a strong start early Thursday as investors weighed the two Labor Department reports.
The government said fewer people applied for unemployment aid last week, pushing the four-week average down to its lowest level since April 2000. Unemployment benefit applications are a proxy for layoffs, so the very low level is evidence that Americans are enjoying more job security.
It is also a sign employers are confident enough in the economy to hold on to their employees, despite signs of sluggish growth.
Investors are trying to gauge when the Federal Reserve will move to raise short-term interest rates for the first time in more than six years. The central bank has said it wants to see annual inflation heading toward 2 percent, a sign of a healthier economy.
Beyond economic data, traders had their eye on the latest batch of corporate earnings and deal news.