Dow, S&P 500 close at records as investors await final stimulus deal from Congress

• Major US equity indexes closed at record highs on Thursday as investors awaited a final stimulus deal to be announced from Congress.
• A $900 billion stimulus deal is expected to be negotiated and finalized through the weekend, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
• The deal is said to include direct payments for Americans, $300 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, and a $300 weekly federal unemployment benefit.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq composite indexes all closed at record highs on Thursday as a $900 billion fiscal stimulus bill designed to hasten the ongoing economic recovery appeared imminent.

The stimulus bill is said to include direct payments for Americans, $300 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, and a $300 weekly federal unemployment benefit.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was willing to back another round of direct payments after hearing that the issue was hurting the campaigns of Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are facing runoff elections on January 5, The New York Times reported.

McConnell said it was "highly likely" that senators would be working through the weekend to finalize the deal.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET close on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 3,722.48, up 0.6%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 30,303.37, up 0.5% (149 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 12,764.75, up 0.8%

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Stocks aren't the only asset surging as the end of the year approaches. Bitcoin reached a record high on Thursday, climbing above $23,000 and eclipsing its 2017 high of just under $20,000.

Bitcoin is now up more than 200% year-to-date. One well-known asset manager thinks the cryptocurrency could hit six digits. Coinbase plans to take advantage of the surge in bitcoin by going public, according to its S-1 filing released today.

US mortgage rates sunk to a record low on Thursday of 2.67% for the popular 30-year fixed, representing the 15th time this year the rate has hit a new low.

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Robinhood paid $65 million to settle charges by the SEC that the popular brokerage firm misled companies about the quality of its service.

Roku soared on Thursday after the streaming platform said it struck a deal with WarnerMedia to support HBO Max.

Oil prices edged higher. West Texas Intermediate crude rose as much as 1.6%, to $48.59 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped 1.6%, to $51.90 per barrel, at intraday highs.

Gold rose as much as 1.7%, to $1,896.26 per ounce.

Read more: Fund manager Brian Barish has returned more than 550% to investors over 2 decades, and he just had 2 of his best years ever. He told us how he did it - and 3 top picks for the next 5 years.