How the Dow Jones industrial average did Thursday

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market closed at record highs on Thursday following another piece of good news on the economy. Fewer Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week, according to the Labor Department. That came a day after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday made clear it would keep interest rates near zero for a while.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 109.14 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,265.99.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.79 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,011.36.

The Nasdaq composite rose 31.24 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,593.43.

For the week:

The Dow is up 278.48 points, or 1.6 percent.

The S&P 500 index is up 25.82 points, 1.3 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 25.83 points, or 0.6 percent.

For the year:

The Dow is up 689.33 points, or 4.2 percent.

The S&P 500 index is up 163.00 points, or 8.8 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 416.84 points, or 9.9 percent.