S&P 500 flirting with record high

U.S. stock indexes rose Thursday, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index flirting with an all-time closing high. The S&P 500 gained 3.37 points, 0.22 percent, to 1,566.22, pushing past its record close of 1,565.15, a mark it reached in October 3007. U.S. markets made headway as global markets reversed themselves from Wednesday by heading lower in Asia and higher in Europe. Investors are keeping an eye on developments in Cyprus, where banks opened after 12 days with restrictions on withdrawals to ensure account holders don't overrun the country's troubled banking institutions. The Kansas City Federal Reserve bank said manufacturing in the district was in contraction, although the pace of contraction had slowed since February. In early afternoon trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 33.90 points, or 0.23 percent, to 14,560.06. The tech-oriented Nasdaq composite index added 3.08 points, 0.09 percent, to 3,259.61. Ten-year U.S. treasury bonds fell 4/32 to yield 1.863 percent. Against the dollar, the euro rose to $1.2816 from Wednesday's $1.2779. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 94.10 yen from 94.46 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index shed 1.26 percent, 157.83 points, to 12,335.96. In London, the FTSE 100 index added 0.38 percent, 24.18 points, to 6,411.74.