New record for stocks: S&P 500 closes above 4,000 for first time
CBSN
Stocks closed at a record high on Thursday, boosted by a rise in share prices for big technology companies as well as smaller companies that would benefit from a quickly growing economy.
The market's march into April pushed the S&P 500-stock index past the 4,000-point mark for the first time, to 4,020. The key market benchmark is coming off its fourth straight quarterly gain for as of March 31. The Dow rose 172 points, or 0.5%, to 33,153, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.8%. The Russell 2000 index of small companies was up 1.5%. It's a holiday-shortened week for the stock market. The stock exchanges will be closed in observance of Good Friday. Bond trading will be open for half a day, closing at noon Eastern time.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.