Stocks were higher with the Dow logging Thursday's biggest gains and the S&P 500 making a new all-time high. First, the scoreboard: Dow: 17,040.39, +61.2, (+0.4%) S&P 500: 1,992.35, +5.8, (+0.3%) Nasdaq: 4,532.10, +5.6, (+0.1%) And now, the top stories on Thursday: 1. The weekly report on initial jobless claims from the Department of Labor showed claims fell 14,000 from last week to 298,000.