U.S. stock indexes ended mostly higher Thursday after a late stumble left the S&P 500 just short of another all-time high.
A couple of economic reports, including one showing fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, helped support stocks.
The wobbly trading came after Wall Street rocketed higher last month as hopes built for coming COVID-19 vaccines.
On Thursday:
The S&P 500 slipped 2.29 points, or 0.1%, to 3,666.72.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 85.73 points, or 0.3%, to 29,969.52.
The Nasdaq composite added 27.82 points, or 0.2%, to 12,377.18.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 10.67 points, or 0.6%, to 1,848.70.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is up 28.37 points, or 0.8%.
The Dow is up 59.15 points, or 0.2%.
The Nasdaq is up 171.33 points, or 1.4%.
The Russell 2000 is down 6.57 points, or 0.4%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 435.94 points, or 13.5%.
The Dow is up 1,431.08 points, or 5%.
The Nasdaq is up 3,404.58 points, or 37.9%.
The Russell 2000 is up 180.23 points, or 10.8%.
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