US stocks tick higher, as Wall Street coasts following surge

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are inching further into record heights Thursday, as Wall Street continues to coast following its rocket ride on hopes for coming COVID-19 vaccines.

The S&P 500 was up 0.3% in morning trading, a day after inching up to set another all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 137 points higher, or 0.5%, at 30,021, as of 10:23 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.7%.

A couple reports that were better than expected on the economy helped support stocks. One showed that growth in the U.S. services sector, including health care and retail, was slightly stronger last month than economists expected. A separate report said fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than forecast, though economists cautioned the number may have been distorted by the Thanksgiving holiday.

Momentum across markets has slowed after the S&P 500 surged 10.8% last month on hopes that one or more coronavirus vaccines will get the global economy closer to normal next year. The burst of optimism boosted stocks of travel companies, banks and smaller businesses in particular, after they were among the most harshly punished during the pandemic.

Now that stock indexes are back at all-time highs, worries about the still-raging pandemic are making further big gains more difficult. Governments around the world are considering the approval of several coronavirus vaccines, and a U.S. rollout could begin this month if regulators give their approval. Britain has already approved emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

But vaccines would initially go out only to protect health care workers and others at high risk. In the meantime, coronavirus counts and hospitalizations continue to surge. That has governments around the world bringing back varying degrees...