Stocks finished modestly higher Thursday, adding to the gains that helped the market close out its best first half of a year since the dotcom bubble.

       The S&P 500 posted its fourth-consecutive record high.

       Investors have been encouraged by data that show the economy continues its recovery from the pandemic. The latest weekly unemployment report showed the lowest number of claims for unemployment benefits since the pandemic walloped the economy. The highly anticipated jobs report for June comes out Friday.

       On Thursday:

       The S&P 500 rose 22.44 points, or 0.5%, to 4,319.94.

       The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 131.02 points, or 0.4%, to 34,633.53.

       The Nasdaq rose 18.42 points, or 0.1%, to 14,522.38.

       The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 18.81 points, or 0.8%, to 2,329.36.

       For the week:

       The S&P 500 is up 39.24 points, or 0.9%.

       The Dow is up 199.69 points, or 0.6%.

       The Nasdaq is up 161.99 points, or 1.1%.

       The Russell 2000 is down 5.04 points, or 0.2%.

       For the year:

       The S&P 500 is up 563.87 points, or 15%.

       The Dow is up 4,027.05 points, or 13.2%.

       The Nasdaq is up 1,634.09 points, or 12.7%.

       The Russell 2000 is up 354.50 points, or 18%.