Broad gains across stock market push S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs

A broad rally for stocks on Wall Street sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new highs Thursday, as the market more than made up for modest losses a day earlier.

The S&P 500 rose 1%, posting its third all-time high this week. More than 80% of the stocks in the benchmark index closed higher. Technology stocks, banks and a mix of companies that rely on consumer spending accounted for much of the gains.

The Nasdaq rose 1.4%, nudging the tech-heavy index above its previous record high set Sept. 7. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%, leaving it just shy of the all-time high it set on Tuesday.

Smaller stocks outpaced the broader market in a sign that investors are more confident about economic growth. Bond yields ticked higher and energy futures were mixed.

The market’s latest milestones come as investors welcomed another encouraging batch of corporate earnings reports by companies such as Ford and Caterpillar. With a little over a third of S&P 500 companies having reported results for the July-September quarter so far, some 66% of them posted earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s estimates, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Low interest rates and growing company earnings are among reasons why investors remain in a buying mood, said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The S&P 500 index rose 44.74 points to 4,596.42. The index is on pace for its fourth straight weekly gain. The Dow gained 239.79 points to 35,730.48. The Nasdaq rose 212.28 points to 15,448.12.