Stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 notching a new record high and the Nasdaq outperforming as FAANG tech names rallied higher. However, investors were slightly uneased by a worse-than-expected unemployment claims report, but the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy continued to encourage economic recovery outlooks.

New weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, according to the Labor Department, reaching its highest level in three weeks despite labor market strength seen throughout the week. New claims totaled 744,000 for the week ended April 3, up from last week's upwardly revised 728,000 for the previous week. Continuing unemployment claims also trended higher at 3.734 million, but the prior week's claims were downwardly revised to 3.75 million.

Here's how the market settled on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.42% or +17.20 points to 4,097.15

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.17% or +56.13 points to 33,502.39

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +1.03% or +140.47 points to 13,829.31

For Stocks, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that his state is suing the Biden administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to allow the U.S. cruise line industry to restart immediately. Affected stocks include Carnival (CCL  ), Royal Caribbean (RCL  ) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holding (NCLH  ).

For Sector Performance, sectors ended the muted session mostly higher, with Information Technology (XLK  ) leading gains, while Real Estate (XLRE  ) and Energy (XLE  ) led losses.

For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) slipped to a two-week low against six other global currencies on Thursday after U.S. unemployment data unexpectedly trended upward. The dollar index was 0.35% lower at 92.091 in afternoon trading, its lowest level since March 23. Gold (GLD  ) rose to their highest level in over a month on Thursday as the dollar eased and the Fed maintained its loose monetary policy, lifting the yellow metal's appeal. Spot gold gained 1.11% to $1,756.56 per ounce, reaching its session high of $1,758.45 in earlier trading. U.S. gold futures settled up nearly 1% at $1,758.20 per ounce. Crude oil prices dropped on Thursday following demand concerns as global supplies continue to rise. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) declined by 0.7% to $62.70 per barrel, while domestic index West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) settled 0.28% lower at $59.60 each.

For Friday, investors don't have much direction to look forward too, but trades are likely to be focused on next week's start to the first quarter earnings season.