NEW YORK: The Dow and the Nasdaq hit record highs on Thursday in anticipation of President-elect Joe Biden’s pandemic aid proposal to jump-start a struggling economy after data highlighted weakening labor market conditions.

The Labor Department’s weekly jobless report showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, underscoring the impact of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections.

However, the S&P 500 rose for the seventh time in nine sessions this year as investors count on Biden to unveil a stimulus plan on Thursday evening that could exceed $1.5 trillion. Among individual stocks, Delta Air Lines gained about 5% as Chief Executive Ed Bastian forecast 2021 to be “the year of recovery” after the coronavirus pandemic prompted its first annual loss in 11 years.

The S&P 1500 airlines index added 3.4%.

The domestically-focused small-cap Russell 2000 also hit an all-time high.

At 10:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 116.19 points, or 0.38%, to 31,178.17, the S&P 500 gained 11.29 points, or 0.30 %, to 3,821.13 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 81.07 points, or 0.62 %, to 13,210.89.

The Philadelphia semiconductor index jumped 2.3% to a record high.—Reuters