S&P 500 Reaches New Record Closing High

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved modestly higher during trading on Thursday, although buying interest was somewhat subdued. With the upward move, the S&P 500 ended the session at a new record closing high, while the Nasdaq closed just shy of a new high.

While many of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, oil service stocks saw considerable strength throughout the session. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index surged up by 2.2 percent.

The gains by oil service stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for July delivery jumping $1.74 to $60.72 a barrel.

Railroad stocks also turned in a strong performance, driving the Dow Jones Railroads Index up by 1.4 percent. Kansas City Southern (KSU), Canadian Pacific (CP), and Union Pacific (UNP) posted notable gains.

Notable strength was also visible among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index. Telecom and retail stocks also saw some strength on the day.

The major averages all closed in positive territory, although the Dow inched up only 0.34 points to 18.285.74. The Nasdaq climbed 19.05 points or 0.4 percent to 5,090.79 and the S&P 500 rose 4.97 points or 0.2 percent to 2,130.82.