Thursday

Stocks finished higher after a white-hot reading from mid-Atlantic manufacturers outweighed higher-than-expected jobless claims and a rise in U.S. consumer prices. A day after investors pushed the S&P 500 to twice its financial-crisis low, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a fresh two-and-a-half year high as it rose .24%. Energy and materials stocks led the S&P 500 higher, while Coca-Cola and Dupont led the Dow. DJIA +29.97 Nasdaq +6.02 S&P 500 +4.11.