S&P 500 closes above 1,700 points for first time
World BusinessAug 2, 2013
Stocks roared back to record highs on Thursday, driven by good news on the economy.The Standard & Poor's 500, the Dow Jones industrial average and the Russell 2000 index set all-time highs. The S&P broke through 1,700 points for the first time. The Nasdaq hit its highest level since September 2000.The gains were driven by a steady flow of encouraging reports on the global economy.Overnight, a positive read on China's manufacturing helped shore up Asian markets. An hour before U.S. trading starte