BCS Barclays PLC

By Riva Gold and Akane Otani 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed Thursday, on track for its 10th consecutive record close.

The Dow industrials rose 58 points, or 0.3%, to 20834. The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5%, weighed by a selloff in shares of biotechnology companies.

Stocks have climbed since Election Day, as corporate earnings have improved, data has shown growth in the U.S. economy and investors have bet on the new U.S. administration implementing tax cuts and fiscal stimulus. The Dow industrials climbed to nine consecutive record closes through Wednesday.

"The outlook for earnings got a bit better, regardless of the election. Then you throw on top of that perhaps a more business-friendly environment and confidence has improved," said Matthew Peron, head of global equities at Northern Trust Asset Management.

Some investors remain cautious, however, noting stocks are getting expensive. Companies in the S&P 500 traded at about 22 times their past 12 months of earnings as of Wednesday, above their 10-year average of 15.8, according to FactSet.

"It feels to me like the market is pricing in a lot more optimism than it should be," said David Lafferty, chief strategist at Natixis Global Asset Management.

Gains in oil prices helped lift shares of energy companies in the S&P 500 on Thursday. The S&P 500 energy sector rose 0.6%, with Transocean and National Oilwell Varco posting some of the biggest advances. Gains in Exxon Mobil and Chevron helped keep the Dow industrials in positive territory.

U.S. crude oil jumped 1.5% to $54.40 a barrel. Data has shown major oil producers have largely kept their promise to reduce output and tackle a global supply glut.

Shares of industrial companies fell 0.8% in the S&P 500, weighing on the index. United Rentals fell 4.7% and Ryder System lost 3.1%.

A decline in biotechnology shares dragged the Nasdaq Composite lower. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index fell 0.7%, on course for its third consecutive session of declines.

Government bonds and their stock-market proxies gained.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note edged lower to 2.390%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.416% Wednesday. Yields fall as bond prices rise.

Shares of utilities companies in the S&P 500, often considered bondlike stocks because of their dividends, rose 1.1%.

The dollar pulled back for a second session. The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against a basket of 16 currencies, was recently down 0.5%.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.1%.

Japan's Nikkei ended flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.4%, weighed by a decline in bank shares.

--Ese Erheriene contributed to this article.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com and Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 23, 2017 13:01 ET (18:01 GMT)

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