U.S. Stocks Open Higher, Set All-time Highs

U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Dow industrials setting all-time highs, on track for their fifth straight advance. Investors shrugged off a surprise decision by the Bank of England to leave monetary policy unchanged. Strong gains in oil prices boosted risk appetite, while a pair of U.S. economic-data reports were stronger than expected. Weekly jobless claims were unchanged, suggesting no rise in layoffs, while producer prices jumped last month, also pointing to rising inflation pressures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 133 points, or 0.7%, to 18,502, the S&P 500 index gained 13 points, or 0.6%, to 2,165, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 35 points, or 0.7%, to 5,040.