LONG RUN: The Dow edged higher again Thursday, extending a streak of daily gains to 10. That's the longest since November 1996, when President Bill Clinton was still in the White House.

JOBS: The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to a five-year low last week, the Labor Department reported, another sign the job market is strengthening.

FINAL SCORES: The Dow rose 83.86 points to close at 14,539.14. The S&P 500 index gained 8.71 points to 1,563.23, a gain of 0.6 percent. It's just two points shy of the peak it reached in October 2007.