Nasdaq Climbs To New Record Closing High

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday, more than offsetting the modest weakness seen in the previous session. With the strength on the day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached a new record closing high.

Tobacco stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index up by 2.7 percent. With the gain, the index reached a new record closing high.

Philip Morris (PM) turned in one of the tobacco sector's best performances after reporting better than expected second quarter results.

A strong gain by Netflix (NFLX) also contributed to significant strength in the internet sector, with the Dow Jones Internet Index jumping by 2.4 percent. The gain lifted the index to its best levels since 2000.

Shares of Netflix moved sharply higher after the video streaming service provider reported better than expected second quarter results on strong subscriber growth.

Biotechnology stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The index also ended the session at a new record closing high.

Utilities, electronic storage, retail and software stocks also saw notable strength, while gold stocks bucked the uptrend amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal.

The major averages all closed in positive territory, although the Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts. The Nasdaq jumped 64.24 points or 1.3 percent to 5,163.18, while the Dow rose 70.08 points or 0.4 percent to 18,120.25 and the S&P 500 climbed 16.89 points or 0.8 percent to 2,124.29.