Dow On Track For 10th Straight Advance As Energy Pushes Stocks Deeper Into Record Territory

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Thursday, extending the market's move into record territory and putting the Dow on track for its 10th straight advance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47 points, or 0.2%, to 20,820. The S&P 500 added 4 points to 2,367, a gain of 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6 points, or 0.1%, to 5,865. The Dow is coming off its longest streak of consecutive record closes since 1987, and it could post as its lengthiest string of daily gains since March 2013. Energy stocks were among the biggest drivers of the market, boosted as crude oil rose 2.3%. Exxon Mobil rose 0.7% while Chevron Corp. added 1.2%. Both stocks are Dow components, and contributed to the blue-chip average's gain on the day. In the latest economic data, the number of U.S. workers who applied for unemployment benefits rose slightly in the latest week, but layoffs remained near ultralow levels last seen in the early 1970s.