The Dow Jones industrial average rose 38.39 to 6,059.20, padding yesterday's record close and moving within 50 points of 6,100 just three days after its first close above 6,000.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by nearly a 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,425 up, 968 down and 869 unchanged.
NYSE volume totaled 478.55 million shares, 441.41 million yesterday. The S&P 500 rose 2.58 to 706.99, its third record finish this week. The NYSE composite rose 1.88 to 376.41, leaping past Oct. 7's record close at 374.74.
The Nasdaq composite index fell 9.01 to 1,241.98, while the American Stock Exchange index rose 0.87 to 577.39.
Broad-market measures were mostly positive, with the Standard & Poor's 500-list and the New York Stock Exchange composite index closing at record highs.
Bonds rose on news that construction of new homes and apartments fell last month to the lowest level of 1996, while industrial production barely rose. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell to 6.80 percent from late yesterday's 6.85 percent.
AT&T reported an 11 percent drop in third-quarter profits, while Apple Computer joined the good results from the technology sector with late yesterday's report of an unexpected profit in its fourth quarter.