Stocks are rising in early trading on Wall Street after the government reported another decrease in the number of people applying for unemployment benefits.
The Dow rose to its highest close of the year Tuesday, ending 146 points from a record. Stocks gained after impressive results from two big consumer brands.
Don't look now, but the financial markets have been surging since the beginning of the year, and many experts expect the trend to continue for the remainder of 2013.
The Standard & Poor's closed above 1,500 for the first time since the start of the Great Recession in 2007, lifted by strong earnings from Procter & Gamble and Starbucks.
Stocks roared higher on Wall Street and around the world after Congress passed a last-minute budget deal to avert sweeping tax hikes and government spending cuts.