Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose sharply on Thursday, as rallies among struggling department stores and crude oil futures helped push all three major indices to fresh all-time record closing highs in a historic session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 117.86 or 0.64% to 18,613.52, while the S&P 500 Composite Index jumped 10.30 or 0.47% to 2,185.79, temporarily placing a halt to a recent pattern of sideways trading as investors await a closely-watched U.S. presidential election and potential tightening from the Federal Reserve later this fall. At session-highs, the Dow rose as much as 142 points to 18,638.07, the highest level since July when it last broke a record intra-session high. On the S&P 500, all 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Energy and Consumer Services industries led. Stocks in the Energy sector soared more than 1.3% on the day.
The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, gained 23.81 or 0.46% to 5,228.40, amid strong performances among travel and media stocks. A slew of large-cap technology stocks such as Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Broadcom Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO) continue to hover near all-time record highs. It marked the first time the three major indices all closed at record-highs simultaneously since December, 1999.
Stocks on Wall Street received a boost on Thursday from a 4% rebound in WTI crude, following bullish comments from the influential International Energy Agency (IEA) on the possibility of a near-term rebalancing of global energy markets before the end of next year. It also came several days after OPEC president Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada noted that major producers could be willing to discuss efforts to stabilize persistently low oil prices on the sidelines of a September energy forum in Algeria. With Thursday's gains, the front month contract for U.S. crude ended the session at $43.40, its highest closing level in nearly three weeks.
The top performer on the Dow was Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which added 1.60 or 2.90% to 56.73, amid strong critical review of the athletic apparel giant's commercial earlier this week featuring Chris Mosier, the first U.S. transgender athlete to become a member of a U.S. national team. The worst performer was Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), which lost 0.15 or 0.20% to 73.80. Wal-Mart finished just below Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which fell 0.09 or 0.09% to 97.77. Disney shares retreated on Thursday, one day after popping following its acquisition of a 33% stake in live sports streaming company BAMTech. Also on Wednesday, Disney said it finished the second quarter with double-digit growth on an adjusted EPS basis for the 12th consecutive quarter.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:NCLH), which rose 1.48 or 3.97% to 38.78. Shares in Norwegian Cruiseline rebounded on Thursday, one day after the multinational cruiseliner lowered its full-year outlook amid heightened travel anxieties due to recent terrorist acts along with widespread concerns related to the Brexit decision. The worst performer was Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY), which fell 2.28 or 2.73% to 81.21.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M), which soared 5.81 or 17.09% to 39.81. Earlier, Macy's (NYSE:M) reported smaller-than-expected same-store losses for the second quarter and outlined a plan to close 100 stores nationwide as part of its broad turnaround initiative. Macy's rally spilled over into the greater retail space, helping spur strong performances from Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) and JC Penney Company Inc Holding (NYSE:JCP) ahead of their earnings before the end of the week. The worst performer was GGP, which fell 1.06 or 3.45% to 29.66, as a number of leading real estate investment trusts (REITs) tumbled from concerns related to Macy's cost-cutting measures.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 1,876-1,101 margin.