S&P 500, Nasdaq close at record highs as bipartisan infrastructure deal spurs economic optimism

• US stocks closed at record highs on Thursday as a bipartisan deal for an infrastructure bill helped boost economic optimism.
• The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 closed at record highs, while the Dow Jones surged more than 300 points.
• Weekly jobless claims resumed their downward trend on Thursday, falling to 411,000.
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US stocks hit all-time highs on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 closing at record levels as a bipartisan agreement for an infrastructure deal boosted economic optimism.

The $1 trillion infrastructure deal has support from both Republicans and Democrats, while Biden plans to support a separate party-line package.

Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims resumed their downward trend on Thursday, falling to 411,000, which was slightly higher than economist estimates. The decline in jobless claims followed a surprise jump in claims last week.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,266.48, up 0.58%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 34,196.89, up 0.95% (322.65 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 14,369.71, up 0.69%

Andreessen Horowitz has launched a $2.2 billion fund targeting the cryptocurrency space, making it the biggest investment vehicle to ever target the sector.

JPMorgan said the recent decline in bitcoin is unlikely to reverse, as institutional investors are not yet buying the dip in the cryptocurrency. The bank said bitcoin's fair value could be as low as $23,000.

Reddit is piling in on the digital collectibles craze and auctioning off three ethereum NFTs featuring its alien mascot Snoo.

Millennial and Gen-Z investors are eager to invest in the stock market, and they're starting to borrow money from friends and family to begin investing, according to a recent survey.

Eli Lilly surged as much as 10% after the company said it would seek accelerated approval for its Alzheimer's drug candidate, donenamab.

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has amassed a $5 billion tax-free fortune in a Roth IRA, helping him avoid a massive tax bill, according to a report from ProPublica.

Oil prices were higher. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 0.25%, to $73.26 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, rose 0.5%, to $75.53 per barrel.

Gold fell 0.5%, to $1,774.70 per ounce.