Missed it by THAT much: S&P 500 is 2 shy of record high

• Dow%3A Another record high%3B 10-day win streak longest since %2796
• Oil prices for April delivery finish at just under %2493 a barrel
• S%26P 500 index ends about 2 points from all-time closing high

Major stock indexes ended higher Thursday after two economic reports showed the jobs market continues to improve and inflation remains in check. At the close the Dow Jones industrial average had notched its 10th straight day of gains and set a record closing high.

The S&P 500 got within two points of its all-time closing high of 1,565.15. Anticipation has been building more as to when, as opposed to whether, the broad index will join the blue-chip Dow in superlative territory.

It was the eighth record closing high for the Dow in the past 10 trading sessions. Thursday's final Dow number was 14,539.14 after its gain of 0.6%, or 84 points.

The Dow hasn't closed higher that many days in a row in more than 16 years.

Gaining about 0.6% -- nearly 9 points -- for the day, the S&P 500 index settled at 1,563.23, just shy of that all-time closing high, set on Oct. 9, 2007.

Leo Kelly, managing director and partner with HighTower's Kelly Wealth Management, says the streaky Dow is driven by investors getting more comfortable with market risk.

"What you are seeing with the Dow up 10 days in a row is people becoming more comfortable with the risks," he says.

"We have been suffering from what I call 'crisis-itis.' Everybody is waiting for the next dramatic event and when we don't have these major blowups, the risks and concerns start to dissipate and people gain confidence."

The run to new highs on Wall Street this year has been driven by the Federal Reserve-engineered low interest-rate environment, an improving economy and retail sales, a rebounding housing market, and more hiring by U.S. companies.

Despite a big run-up at the start of 2013, stocks remain attractive from a price-to-earnings perspective. The market's P-E ratio is 15 based on last year's earnings, which is below the 18.8 average since 1988. Overall, the U.S. stock market has produced paper gains of $11.5 trillion since the March 9, 2009, bear market low, according to Wilshire Associates.

Though it's well below its all-time closing high of 5,048.62 set back in 2000 during the dot-com bubble, the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index continues to rise. On Thursday, the index climbed almost 14 points, or 0.4%, to 3,258.93. It was boosted by rising shares of Apple, which has gone on the offensive against rival Samsung. Apple's main competitor in the tablet and smartphone market unveils its Galaxy S IV smartphone in New York Thursday.

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Only six of the 30 Dow stocks was down; one ended flat.

Stocks' ebullient run has some on Wall Street warning of a price pullback if the S&P 500 tops its previous high.

"We expect at least a minor top in stocks," says Sam Stovall, a member of S&P's U.S. Investment Policy Committee.

Stovall says the market, which is in "over-bought territory," is also running into an area on its chart that has proved to be difficult to blast through and which proved to be market tops in the 2000 and 2007 bull markets.

Both bulls and bears have reason to worry as the market grinds higher, adds Stovall.

"The bulls," he says, "worry about waning momentum. However, bears flinch at the daily increase of the S&P 500. Investors are in search of a new catalyst to trigger the next move."

The Dow notched its ninth gain in a row Wednesday and closed at another record high. The Dow rose 0.04% to close at 14,455.28. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to close at 1,554.52. The Nasdaq composite rose nearly 0.1% to 3,245.12.

European markets ended the day higher, helped by stronger U.S. economic data. Asian stock markets mostly retreated Thursday as caution prevailed despite the Dow's ninth day of gains and stronger-than-expected retail sales in the U.S. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.16% to 12,381.19.

In commodities trading, the price of crude oil was up 33 cents to $92.70 a barrel in futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices inched up a mere dime to $1,588.50 per ounce. And the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note was higher at 2.03%.

Contributing: USA TODAY's Adam Shell and The Associated Press