By Wallace Witkowski and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Shake Shack rallies after well-received earnings report

U.S. stocks pushed higher Thursday, overturning a string of slight losses on the week, as they seek to break out of range-bound action for the month.

The push comes even after weekly jobless claims and a headline figure for inflation both unexpectedly declined.

The S&P 500 (SPX) was last up 21 points, or 1%, to 2,120, for a weekly gain of 0.2%. Information technology and consumer staples performed best among the benchmark's 10 sectors, which were all in positive territory. The index is 0.3% off its all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) advanced 190 points, or 1.1%, to 18,251, just 0.2% off its all-time closing high of 18,288.63 set on March 2. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) gained 65 points, or 1.3%, to 5,046.

Over the past six months, a lack of conviction in the market, mixed economic data, and the running debate over when the Federal Reserve will start raising rates (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-rate-hike-choice-is-september-or-december-kohn-says-2015-05-14) have kept investors trying to figure out just where stocks are heading, said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial.

"What we do find is that we're starting to bottom out at higher levels and move up," McMillan said. "The factors that make us worry are not as significant as we thought."

McMillan believes the market may see a real breakout in another month if economic data, particularly retail sales, firm up.

It may be that investors have been a little distracted. Investors have been fixated on a volatile bond market (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-prices-rise-after-weak-data-as-eurozones-bonds-also-rebound-2015-05-13), among other things.

"A breakout has been elusive for the SPX as investors have focused beyond the equity market," said Katie Stockton, chief technical strategist at BTIG, in a note Thursday.

Check out: Here's what happens to stocks once the bond rout ends (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-dollar-bulls-should-take-the-plunge-now-2015-05-06)

"As earnings season winds down, we would note that support levels remain intact for the major indices, and breakdowns were not too numerous among individual stocks," Stockton added.

Thursday's gains come after U.S. stocks closed virtually unchanged (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-poised-to-break-two-day-losing-streak-2015-05-13) on Wednesday, as early gains faded. The benchmarks had initially traded higher, after disappointing U.S. retail sales may have prompted investors to bet that the Fed would delay interest-rate increases this year.

The weak retail report also sent the dollar (DXY) sharply lower Wednesday--a slide it continued (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-index-slides-to-lowest-since-january-2015-05-14) on Thursday. Read: Weakening dollar may boost second-quarter earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/strengthening-dollar-may-boost-second-quarter-earnings-2015-05-13)

Thursday's economic reports: The latest reading for initial weekly jobless claims showed a dip by 1,000 to 264,000 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-dip-to-264000-remain-at-15-year-low-2015-05-14), as the pace of layoffs remains around a 15-year low. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected claims to rise to a seasonally adjusted 275,000.

U.S. producer prices fell (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/producer-prices-drop-04-in-april-on-lower-energy-food-costs-2015-05-14) a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in April. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted no change.

There are no Federal Reserve speakers scheduled for Thursday, but European Central Bank President Mario Draghi challenged an argument (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/draghi-hits-back-at-argument-qe-fuels-inequality-2015-05-14) that easing efforts will hurt savers and fuel inequality at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. Read: Fed's rate-hike path, not timing, is what matters, says Schwab strategist (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/schwab-strategist-says-hike-path-not-timing-is-what-to-focus-on-2015-05-13)

Individual movers: Shares in Shake Shack Inc.(SHAK) rose 4% after the burger chain late Wednesday reported first-quarter results that topped estimates from Wall Street analysts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shake-shack-raises-revenue-outlook-after-loss-2015-05-13).

Kohl's Corp.(KSS) reported first-quarter sales below forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kohls-reports-weak-sales-growth-stock-falls-2015-05-14), sending shares 12% lower for the biggest drop among S&P 500 stocks.

Cisco Systems Inc.(CSCO) was down 0.6%. Investors are digesting the tech giant's quarterly report, which came out late Wednesday and showed better-than-expected profit and revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cisco-beats-quarterly-expectations-as-product-sales-grow-2015-05-13).

Read more in Thursday's Movers & Shakers column (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kohls-nordstrom-applied-materials-shares-in-focus-2015-05-14)

Other markets: European stock markets were higher after erasing losses (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), while Asian bourses (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/australian-shares-fall-on-iron-ore-weakness-2015-05-13-231034025) closed mixed. Gold futures (GCM5) gained (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-edges-higher-as-bulls-try-to-build-on-momentum-2015-05-14), while crude oil (CLM5) (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid)moved lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-dips-after-iea-report-points-to-oversupply-2015-05-14).

--Sara Sjolin in London contributed to this article.

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