U.S. stocks closed higher, rallying to 4-year highs Thursday after earnings from drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., oil company Exxon Mobil Corp. and coffee chain Starbucks Corp. beat Wall Street expectations, boosting investor enthusiasm for equities, Reuters reported. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index, a broad market gauge, and the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index both ended at their highest levels since the summer of 2001. The S&P is headed to its best monthly performance since December 2003. The Russell 2000 index edged up 1.2 percent, hitting an all-time record. Exxon was the biggest positive factor on the S&P 500. In another measure of stocks' strength, the New York Stock Exchange Composite index climbed 0.7 percent to 7,518.08, an all-time high. Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners by a ratio of almost 3-to-1 on the NYSE and by more than 5-to-3 on the Nasdaq. DaimlerChrysler added to gains. The German-American car maker's shares surged after news that its embattled chief executive, Juergen Schrempp, will leave at the end of the year . Second-quarter profits of S&P 500 companies are now seen rising 10.1 percent, marking 13 straight quarters of double-digit profit growth, according to Reuters Estimates. The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 68.46 points, or 0.64 percent, to 10,705.55. The S&P 500 advanced 6.93 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,243.72. The Nasdaq rose 12.22 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,198.44. "All those cautious comments from management are gone, so we're looking for a bright second half," said Martin Yokosawa, senior portfolio manager at Oberweis Asset Management in Lisle, Illinois. "The market has been telling us that was going to happen since May, and it looks like it's going to go for a while."
