S&P 500 back to a record close

Oil price increase, European growth a boost for investors.

NEW YORK — A slight gain was enough to push the stock market back to record Friday.

Stocks climbed as a rebound in oil prices helped push energy stocks higher. A report that showed growth picked up faster than forecast in Europe in the fourth quarter of last year also boosted investor sentiment.

Investors were also picking over the latest earnings news. CBS gained after report- ing earnings that exceeded analyst’s expectations, as the media company got a boost from better advertising revenue.

Stocks have surged in February, rebounding from a January slump, as recovering oil prices have boosted energy stocks. Growing corporate earnings and the announcement of more stimulus to boost growth in Europe have also helped turn investor sentiment around this month.

“Stability seems to be coming back,” said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. “Overall, I think the market is going to go higher ... but it may be a case of two steps forward, one step back.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 8.51 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,096.99. That surpassed the previous record close of 2,090.57 set Dec. 29.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 46.97 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,019.35. The index is still 35 points short of its all-time high. The Nasdaq composite gained 36.22 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,893.84.

About three-quarters of the companies in the S&P 500 index have now reported results for the fourth quarter, and earnings for the period are projected to rise by 7.5 percent. While that is a decline from growth of 10.4 percent in the previous quarter, it’s better than analysts were expecting at the start of December.