NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average is closing above 16,000 for the first time as encouraging news on the job market pushes stocks higher.
Applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since September. The number of applications is close to where it was before the Great Recession.
The Dow rose 109 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 16,010 Thursday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 14 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,795. The Nasdaq composite rose 47 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 3,969.
Williams-Sonoma jumped 8 per cent after the company said its third-quarter net income rose as customers spent more at its West Elm and PBteen stores.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.79 per cent.
