US stocks gained on Thursday, pushing the Dow Jones average to another record high, on stronger-than-expected earnings news from consumer-sector companies, including McDonald's Corp Warehouse club Costco Wholesale Corp and Yum Brands Inc, the operator of the Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell chains, also reported solid financial results.
The gains pushed the blue chip Dow briefly to an intraday record of 11,934.73. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 76.04 points, or 0.64 percent, at 11,928.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 8.43 points, or 0.62 percent, at 1,358.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 20.90 points, or 0.91 percent, at 2,329.17. The S&P 500 touched a new 5 1/2-year high of 1,359.05.