US stocks

1. U.S. stocks had another day of gains Thursday that pushed
the Dow and S&P 500 to new record highs.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
U.S. stocks had another day of gains Thursday that pushed
the Dow and S&P 500 to new record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped the previous day's record high,
rising 0.4% to close at 14,865.14. The blue chip index is now less than 1% away
from 15,000.
The S&P 500 gained nearly 0.4% to 1,593.37, also a new record and putting the
broad index just 0.4% away from 1,600.
"It's a market that's climbed the walls of worry. When there are pullbacks, the
market rebounds quickly," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris
Asset Management.
The outlier was the Nasdaq , which was dragged down by weakness in the tech
sector. Shares of PC-related companies extended the prior day's sell-off
following news that PC sales fell 14% worldwide last quarter.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), Intel (INTC, Fortune
500) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) fell between 3% and 7%.
Herbalife (HLF) spiked 3% after the Securities and Exchange Commission
filed insider trading charges against the former KPMG partner who was fired
after allegedly leaking insider trading information. KPMG resigned as auditor of
the nutritional supplement company on Wednesday.
Related: Stock rally has room to run
On the economic front, investors largely shrugged off a better-than-expected
weekly report on initial jobless claims.
Retailers also reported a mixed bag of February same-store sales -- a key metric
used to gauge consumer spending.
Sales at Costco (COST, Fortune 500) rose 4%, missing forecasts,
while Gap (GPS,Fortune 500) reported same-store sales that rose a better-than-
expected 3% in the latest month.
Shares of Yum Brands (YUM, Fortune 500) were slightly higher after falling in
premarket trading. The restaurant operator revealed that its same-store sales in

2. Chinadropped in March amid an ongoing food safety scandal and concerns
about bird flu.
Despite the company's recall of 1.7 million vehicles because of airbag
defects, Toyota(TM) shares rose. Honda (HMC) shares also gained, even after
the automaker said it was recalling 1.1 million vehicles with airbag
problems. Shares of airbag supplier Takata Corp closed down 9% in Tokyo.
Related: Fear & Greed Index heads back into greed
Meanwhile, corporate results continued to roll in.
Drugstore chain Rite Aid (RAD, Fortune 500) swung to a profit in the latest
quarter, trouncing forecasts and sending shares up 19%. Bed Bath &
Beyond (BBBY, Fortune 500) reported earnings in line with forecasts, as sales
continued to rise.
The first of the big banks, JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500) and Wells
Fargo (WFC,Fortune 500), will report their results ahead of the opening bell
Friday.
Related: Wall Street sours on gold
European markets closed higher, supported by Wall Street's record-breaking
run.
Asian markets also ended with gains. The Shanghai Composite added 0.1%,
the Hang Sengincreased 0.3% and the Nikkei jumped 2%.
Oil prices were lower, while gold prices were slightly higher.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.79% from 1.81% Tuesday.