Jobs news helps US stocks to new high

Stocks closed higher for a fourth straight day on Wall Street yesterday after a report on hiring provided another encouraging sign that the US economy is emerging from its winter slump.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed at a record high for the eighth time this year. The Dow Jones industrial average also rose above its record closing level during trading, but fell back and finished just short of its first all-time high of the year.