Stocks shake off an afternoon stumble to end modestly higher

The stock market recovered from an afternoon stumble and ended with modest gains Thursday, enough to mark more record highs for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 added 0.3 percent while the Nasdaq managed a gain of 0.1 percent. Small-company stocks far outpaced the rest of the market, a sign that investors are feeling encouraged about the prospects for the economy. The Russell 2000 rose 0.7 percent, more than twice the gain of the S&P 500, which tracks large companies. Energy stocks did particularly well as the price of oil rose 2 percent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 1.29 percent.