By Reuters

Wall Street rose again Thursday and the Dow extended its recent winning streak to 10 days in early trading, topping the key 14,500 mark for the first time ever, after data showed the labor market recovery is gaining traction.

The broader S&P 500 was also closing in on its all-time high in the wake of new record levels for the Dow. The S&P is roughly 5 points from its closing peak of 1,565.15, set in October 2007.

A 10-day run of advances for the Dow would match a string of gains last seen in late 1996. U.S. equities have accelerated since the start of the year, boosted by improvement in the economy and continued easy monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

"You don't string together more than eight or nine days very often," said Jack De Gan, chief investment officer at Harbor Advisory Corp in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

"We're pretty clearly going to get a correction here soon, but I don't think it'll be much. It could be precipitated by almost anything."

Data on Thursday offered fresh signs of strength in the labor market as the number of filings for new unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell in the latest week, following declines in the previous two weeks.

A separate report showed U.S. producer prices rose in February by the most in five months as gasoline prices spiked. There was, however, little sign of a broader increase in inflation pressures that could force the Fed to tighten monetary policy.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 57.25 points, or 0.40 percent, to 14,512.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 5.79 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,560.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 12.23 points, or 0.38 percent, to 3,257.35.

Ebay gained 2.6 percent to $52.32 after Evercore Partners raised its rating to "overweight."

But on the downside, Amazon shares fell 2.5 percent to $268.17 after JPMorgan cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "overweight" and lowered its price target to $300 from $333.


Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013.