Major Averages Close Near Their Best Levels Of The Day

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday after ending the previous session roughly flat. The gains on the day lifted the S&P 500 to a new record closing high, while the Dow reached its best levels since early March.

Computer hardware stocks saw considerable strength throughout the session, resulting in a 2.3 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in almost a month.

Within the hardware sector, Apple (AAPL) advanced by 2.3 percent after UBS raised its fiscal 2015 earnings estimate for the tech giant amid expectations of an increase in iPhone sales.

Significant strength was also visible among commercial real estate stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent gain posted by the Morgan Stanley REIT Index.

LaSalle Hotel Properties (LHO), Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT), and General Growth Properties (GGP) posted strong gains.

Software stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, driving the Dow Jones Software Index up by 1.8 percent. Industry giant Microsoft (MSFT) surged up by 2.3 percent.

Housing, tobacco, and internet stocks also moved notably higher, while oil service stocks bucked the uptrend amid a decrease by the price of crude oil.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory, near their highs for the session. The Dow jumped 191.75 points or 1.1 percent to 18,252.24, the Nasdaq soared 69.10 points or 1.4 percent to 5,050.79 and the S&P 500 surged up 22.62 points or 1.1 percent to 2,121.10.