Stocks jump as Dow, S&P 500 near record levels

Stocks rose Thursday as the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index approached record levels. Tech stocks are attempting to rebound after recent losses.

In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.3% to 16,574. The Dow closed at a record high of 16,580.84 on April 30.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.4% to 1,886. The broad-based market index hit a record high close of 1,890.90 on April 2.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 0.8% to 4,103.

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Some audible sighs of relief in Japan, as the Nikkei ended up 0.9% at 14,163.78, recovering from a three-week closing low hit on Wednesday.

Toyota, Japan's largest company, reported a surge in corporate earnings helped by a weaker yen, but forecast that profit would not be as rosy going forward. Toyota is forecasting a $17.5 billion profit for the fiscal year through March 2015.

In corporate news out of Europe, London-based Barclays, the bank, said it would cut around 14,000 jobs this year, half of them in the United Kingdom. "This is a bold simplification of Barclays," Chief Executive Officer Antony Jenkins said in a statement. "We will be a focused international bank, operating only in areas where we have capability, scale, competitive advantage." Investors appeared to welcome the news as Barclays shares rose on the London Stock Exchange.

U.S. stock markets finished higher on Wednesday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin's softening tone in the confrontation with the West over Ukraine helping to lift investor sentiment.