Dow at Record High for 6th Day

U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday, with the Dow ending at a record high for the sixth straight day, after government data showed a decline in weekly jobless claims. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 122.33 points, or 0.75 percent, to end at 16,479.88. The Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 8.70 points, or 0.47 percent, to finish at 1,842.02. The Nasdaq Composite added 11.76 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 4,167.18.

Sales during the 2013 U.S. holiday season grew from a year earlier as deep discounting and increased promotions encouraged bargain-hungry shoppers to buy more. Holiday sales between November 1 and December 24 rose 2.3 percent, compared with 0.7 percent a year earlier, according to data published in the MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse report.

UPS, the world’s largest package-delivery company, said in a service update on its website that the volume of air packages exceeded its capacity immediately preceding Christmas.

Delta (DAL) acknowledged a glitch caused steeply-discounted tickets to be offered online Thursday — some for as low as $27, according to customers.