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Nasdaq closes above 11,000 for first time

The Nasdaq hit a milestone Thursday, closing above the 11,000 mark for the first time, and the S&P 500 edged closer to its all-time high even as stocks on that index traded in a narrow range.

The Nasdaq rose 1%. The Dow and S&P 500 gained two-thirds percent.

Crossmark Global Investments chief market strategist Victoria Fernandez says low interest rates, the hope for a COVID-19 vaccine, and better-than-expected earnings are driving stocks higher.

"If we stopped right now, this second quarter would actually have the highest positive earnings surprise in history. So I think you have all of that pushing these markets higher."

Rocket shares blasted higher on their debut. The parent of mortgage lender Quicken Loans sold fewer shares than planned but raised $1.8 billion, valuing the company at around $36 billion.

Shares of ViacomCBS jumped. High demand for streaming helped the media giant's quarterly revenue top analysts' forecasts.

Western Digital shares sank. The hard-drive maker issued a weak outlook for profit and revenue.

On Friday, investors eyes will be glued to the jobs report. Wall Street expects the economy will have added nearly 1.6 million jobs last month.