Dow Jones Reaches Another Record High The Dow Jones Industrial Average set another record high when it rose for the sixth consecutive session, adding 122.33 points to finish at 16,479.88 Thursday. The rally was sparked by the Labor Department's morning announcement that fewer Americans than expected filed for jobless benefits last week, CNBC reports. Jobless claims fell by 42,000 to 338,000 last week. The S&P 500, meanwhile, reached a record close of 1,842.02, or a 0.5 percent increase while the NASDAQ surged to its highest level since Sept. 1, 2000, up 0.3 percent to close at 4,167.17. The DJIA has closed at record highs 50 times in 2013, while the S&P 500 notched all-time highs 44 times.