Stocks closed broadly higher again Thursday as investors grew more optimistic that a slowing U.S. economy means the Federal Reserve can temper its aggressive interest rate hikes aimed at taming inflation.
The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent as more than 80 percent of the stocks in the benchmark index closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1 percent and the Nasdaq rose 1.1 percent. Smaller company stocks edged out the broader market, lifting the Russell 2000 by 1.3 percent.
