Stocks rise on Wall Street

Wall Street added to its recent string of gains Thursday, closing out a holidayshortened week of trading with a broad stock rally that nudged the S&P 500 to an all-time high.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, its third straight gain. The benchmark index’s latest milestone marks its 68th record high this year. It’s now up 25.8% for the year with just five trading days left to go in 2021.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq gained 0.8%. The Russell 2000, a measure of small-company stocks, rose 0.9%.

Stock indexes bounced back this week after posting weekly losses last week. A surge in coronavirus cases because of the omicron variant has weighed on Wall Street, adding to concerns about rising inflation and its impact on economic growth. Traders may have been encouraged by some preliminary research that suggests omicron, while spreading much faster than the delta COVID-19 variant, may cause less severe illness.

The S&P 500 rose 29.23 points to 4,725.79. The index rose 2.3% for the week. Its latest all-time high eclipsed the one it set Dec. 10.

The Dow gained 196.67 points to 35,950.56, while the Nasdaq rose 131.48 points to 15,653.37. The Russell 2000 picked up 19.67 points to 2,241.58.

Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.49% from 1.46% late Wednesday.

U.S. markets will be closed Friday in observance of Christmas.