U.S. stocks are back at record levels as investors were encouraged by good news on housing, the job market and corporate earnings.

Best Buy jumped 7 percent Thursday after its quarterly results came in far ahead of what analysts were expecting. That bodes well for the holiday shopping season in the U.S.

Homebuilder stocks rose after sales of U.S. homes increased last month. Beazer Homes rose 2 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,052.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 33 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,719. The Nasdaq composite added 26 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,701.

Oil rose $1 to $75.58 a barrel in New York.

Bond price rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.33 percent.