US stocks hit record high as economic optimism accelerates

• US stocks edged higher on Monday, with the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 hitting an all-time high.
• The gains come as data continues to show the economic recovery from the pandemic is ongoing.
• Weekly jobless claims resumed their downward trend on Thursday, falling to 411,000.
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US stocks gained on Thursday, with the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 surging to record highs as data continued to show an ongoing economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Weekly jobless claims resumed their downward trend on Thursday, falling to 411,000, which was slightly higher than economist estimates. The decline in jobless claims followed a surprise jump in claims last week.

As stocks continue their trend higher, work around an infrastructure bill is heating up, with President Joe Biden continuing talks with both Democrats and Republicans later today.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,265.47, up 0.56%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 34,086.03, up 0.63% (211.79 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 14,375.09, up 0.72%

Andreessen Horowitz has launched a $2.2 billion fund targeting the cryptocurrency space on Thursday.

JPMorgan said the recent decline in bitcoin is unlikely to reverse, as institutional investors are not yet buying the dip in the cryptocurrency. The bank said bitcoin's fair value could be as low as $23,000.

Reddit is piling in on the NFT craze and auctioning off 3 ethereum NFTs featuring its alien mascot Snoo.

Millennial and Gen-Z investors are eager to invest in the stock market, and they're starting to borrow money from friends and family to begin investing, according to a recent survey.

Oil prices were lower. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5%, to $72.69 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, dropped 0.4%, to $74.85 per barrel.

Gold rose 0.7%, to $1,784.60 per ounce.