S&P follows Dow to hit new record high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks extended gains on Thursday and the S&P 500 followed the Dow Industrials to hit a record intraday high, as results from bellwethers including IBM and Morgan Stanley boosted investor confidence.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 76.15 points or 0.49 percent, to 15,546.67, the S&P 500 ained 7.57 points or 0.45 percent, to 1,688.48 and the Nasdaq Composite added 5.06 points or 0.14 percent, to 3,615.06.