Stocks Mostly Higher As US Job Market Improves

NEW YORK (AP) — The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at another all-time high following encouraging news about the U.S. job market.

The S&P 500 rose three points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 1,877 Thursday.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 61 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,421. The Nasdaq composite lost five points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,352.

The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits last week fell more than economists were expecting. That's a sign fewer workers are being laid off.

Staples plunged 15 percent after the office supply chain said it would close 10 percent of its stores. Nearly half of its sales are now generated online.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 2.74 percent.