Stocks rose toward records Thursday after weekly data showed that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week hit a fresh pandemic nadir. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims were at 364,000 in the week ended June 26, falling by a seasonally adjusted 51,000 from the prior week's 415,000 claims, which had been raised from 411,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.21%
was gaining 0.2% at 34,570, closing in on its May 7 record closing high at 34,777.76. The S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.25%
carved out a fresh intraday record high at 4,307.93 and was trading up 0.2%, on track for its 35th record of 2021. The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+0.03%
was gaining 0.1% at 14,520, and looking at its 20th record of the year. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting the initial public offering of donut chain Krispy Kreme
DNUT,
.