NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market eked out another record close on Thursday as rising oil prices boosted energy stocks.
Stocks are trading at record levels, but the market's gains this week have been modest.
On the one hand, signs the economy is flagging suggest the Federal Reserve will likely refrain from raising rates until later in the year at the earliest. The central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate close to zero for more than six years. That's been a good backdrop for stocks.
On the other hand, if the economy fails to pick up sufficiently, corporate earnings will suffer. That would hurt stocks. Also, after a six-year bull market, stocks are no longer cheap.
The Standard & Poor's closed up 4.97 points, or 0.2 percent, at 2,130.82. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 0.34 point to 18,285.74. The Nasdaq composite rose 19.05 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,090.79.