U.S. stocks advance as S&P 500 trades within a few points of record territory

U.S. stocks traded modestly higher Thursday, pushing the S&P 500 to within just a few points of a fresh record closing high.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111 points, or 0.3%, to 37,657, while the S&P 500 increased 7 points, or 0.14%, to 4,782, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 25 points, or 0.16%, to 15,099.

U.S. stocks opened higher as the penultimate trading session of 2023 got underway, with all three major U.S. indexes at notable new highs. Amid low volume, investors everywhere were watching to see...