S&P within sight of a record close

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NEW YORK, March 14 (UPI) -- U.S. markets rose Thursday, pushing the Dow further into new territory and the Standard & Poor's index close to its all-time record close.

The Dow Jones industrial average has closed higher for 10 consecutive days, a streak unseen in at least 16 years. The past eight of those days have ended with closing record highs for the index.

Now the broader S&P 500 index is within reach of an all-time record, which is 1,565.15.

Pushed by a Labor Department report that first-time unemployment claims fell last week to 332,000, their second-lowest level in more than five years, the S&P index added 8.71 points or 0.56 percent to 1,563.23 Thursday.

At the close, the DJIA was 83.86 points higher, up 0.58 percent, to 14,539.14.

The Nasdaq composite closed with a gain of 13.81 points, or 0.43 percent, to 3,258.93.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,040 stocks advanced and 1,007 declined on a volume of 3.4 billion shares traded.

The 10-year U.S. treasury bonds fell 3/32 to yield 2.034 percent.

Against the dollar, the euro rose to $1.3005 from Wednesday's $1.2961. Against the yen, the dollar was even at 96.11 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 141.53 points, 1.16 percent, to 12,381.19.

In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 0.74 percent, 47.91 points, to 6,529.41.