S&P 500 Falls Short of Record High     12/03 15:56

   U.S. stock indexes closed mostly higher Thursday after a late stumble pulled 
the S&P 500 just short of its third straight all-time high.

   (AP) -- U.S. stock indexes closed mostly higher Thursday after a late 
stumble pulled the S&P 500 just short of its third straight all-time high.

   The benchmark index slipped 0.1% after spending much of the day higher. It's 
on track for its second weekly gain as Wall Street continues to coast following 
its rocket ride last month powered by hopes for coming COVID-19 vaccines. The 
Nasdaq composite set a record high for the second straight day. Treasury yields 
mostly declined, a reversal from earlier in the week.

   A couple reports on the economy that were better than expected 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.

   Investors have also been encouraged this week by signs that Democrats and 
Republicans in Washington may get past their bitter partisanship to reach a 
deal to provide more financial support for the economy. House Speaker Nancy 
Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke Thursday, a day after 
Pelosi signaled a willingness to make major concessions in search of a 
coronavirus rescue package. President-elect Joe Biden urged Congress on 
Wednesday to pass a relief bill now, with more aid to come next year.

   "There's a lot of optimism being built into the market right now," said Sam 
Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. "Investors are sort of keeping 
their fingers crossed that we come up with a stimulus package, no matter the 
size."

   The S&P 500 slipped 2.29 points to 3,666.72. The Dow Jones Industrial 
Average gained 85.73 points, or 0.3%, to 29,969.52. The Nasdaq composite added 
27.82 points, or 0.2%, to 12,377.18. Small company stocks made out better than 
the broader market. The Russell 2000 index picked up 10.67 points, or 0.6%, to 
1,848.70.

   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.

   "It's pretty clear that investors are looking at some of those areas that 
would benefit from a more complete reopening," said David Lefkowitz, head of 
Americas equities at UBS Global Wealth Management.

   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 of restrictions on businesses and consumers worried about their own 
health. That, in turns, is threatening the economic recovery that got underway 
in the spring.

   Across the country, the Labor Department said 712,000 workers applied for 
jobless benefits last week. That's an improvement from the 787,000 of the prior 
week, but it still towers over the roughly 225,000 workers that were applying 
weekly before the pandemic struck.

   Concerns about the potential economic fallout from more restrictions on 
businesses has intensified the pressure on Washington to deliver more aid. 
Still, Democrats and Republicans have been arguing for months without much 
progress.

   "Ideally we would get some kind of fiscal support sooner rather than later," 
Lefkowitz said. "The big news is there's more of a line of sight on the fact 
that the economy will likely get back to full strength."

   On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary 
Steven Mnuchin underscored the importance of such relief during a House 
Financial Services Committee hearing. The economy has been struggling more 
since extra unemployment benefits and other stimulus approved earlier this year 
by Congress expired.

   Ralph Lauren led the gainers in the S&P 500 Thursday, vaulting 8.7%. Several 
travel-related companies also finished near the top of the leaderboard, clawing 
back more of their precipitous losses from earlier in the pandemic. American 
Airlines Group rose 8.3%, Norwegian Cruise line gained 8.6, and United Airlines 
climbed 6.8%. All three, though, remain more than 40% lower for 2020.

   Boeing surged 6% after Ireland's Ryanair announced that it will order 75 
more of the aircraft manufacturer's 737 Max jets, a vote of confidence for the 
troubled Max from one of Europe's biggest budget airlines. The plane was 
grounded in March 2019 after two crashes killed 346 people.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 0.91% from 0.94% late Wednesday.

   European stock markets closed mostly lower. Markets in Asia were mixed.