Stocks close higher, but off earlier highs as focus shifts to re-opening

U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday, crossing some important milestones, even as job losses from the coronavirus pandemic topped 33 million. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 212 points, 0.9%, to close near 23,876, while the S&P 500 closed higher by about 33 points or 1.2%, taking it close to 2,881. The Nasdaq Composite closed at about 8,980, up 125 points or 1.4%, and erasing its pandemic-induced losses. The Nasdaq had crossed the psychologically important 9,000 threshold earlier, but stocks gave back some of their early gains after concerns about demand for oil weighed on crude prices. Shares of Peloton Interactive, Inc. jumped more than 16% as the home-exercise machine maker reported strong demand as Americans remained locked down.

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