S&P 500 finally hits new record high

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The benchmark index rose almost 3 points to 1565.58, inching just above its record closing high of 1565.15 reached in October 2007.

Despite the new milestone, trading was relatively calm Thursday as investors monitored the ongoing crisis in Cyprus and mulled over new economic data in the United States. The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up between 0.1% and 0.2%.

But the first quarter of 2013 has been far from quiet. The Dow, which has been trading at record highs since early March, is up more than 11% and poised to book its best first quarter since 1998. The S&P 500 is up almost 10%. The Nasdaq is up 8%.

Despite the big run-up, experts argue that valuations remain attractive for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 is trading at just 16 times 2012 earnings. At its all-time high in October 2007, the S&P 500's valuation was just above 17 times profits for the past 12 months.

And looking at earnings projections, stocks still appear reasonably valued. The S&P 500 is trading at just 14 times 2013 estimates.

Volume is expected to remain low Thursday, ahead of Good Friday, when markets will be closed in the United States and most of Europe.

Banks in Cyprus reopened Thursday morning after being closed since March 16. The island nation plans to limit the amount of money that depositors can withdraw in an attempt to prevent bank runs.

Cyprus agreed early Monday to raise billions of euros from big depositors at the Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank of Cyprus, and to shrink its banking sector in return for a €10 billion European Union bailout.

Back in the United States, the government released its weekly data on initial jobless claims and its final reading on fourth-quarter GDP.

Jobless claims totaled 357,000 in the week ended March 23, an increase of 16,000 from the prior week and much worse than expected. The forecast called for a total of 335,000, according to a consensus of economists complied by Briefing.com.

The final government report for fourth-quarter GDP showed an annual increase of 0.4%, slightly higher than the expected increase of 0.3%. The prior reading showed the economy grew at a 0.1% pace.

Fear & Greed Index gets greedy

In corporate news, struggling smartphone maker Blackberry (BBRY) reported a surprise profit before the opening bell, but sales missed forecasts. The stock rose 2.5% in morning trading.

European markets were higher in afternoon trading, while Asian markets ended lower. The FTSE 100 in London, the DAX in Frankfurt and the CAC 40 in Paris all made gains. The Nikkei closed lower by 1.3%, the Hang Seng dropped 0.9% and the Shanghai Composite was off 2.8%.

The dollar fell against the euro, British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil and gold prices edged lower.

The price on the 10-year Treasury slipped, pushing the yield up to 1.86% from 1.85% late Wednesday.

First Published: March 28, 2013: 9:58 AM ET

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