2014.02.2804:52:10UTC+00S&P 500 wrap up at record after Yellen's weather talk

The S&P 500 finished at a record on Thursday and concluded in an optimistic territory for the year following Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said severe weather appeared to be behind recent US economic wimpiness.

That gave some solace to investors who backed the view that massive snowstorms and unusually cold weather – and not aggravating fundamentals – were to blame for frail US employment, retail sales, and other figures.

The advance raised the S&P 500 above its 2013 year-end closing level of 1,848.36, which has became the resistance in sessions lately. Speaking before the Senate Banking Committee, Yellen added the Fed would monitor carefully to ensure weather was indeed behind the latest downfall. But she said it would take a momentous change to the economy's expectations for the central bank to make plans to trim its bond-buying program on hold.

Some retailers aced sharp gains for a third session, as shares of J.C. Penney Co Inc. and others leaping after posting strong results. Mylan Inc. rendered one of the largest boosts to both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Mylan's shares surged up 9.4% to close at $56.27 following the US generic drugmaker posted a 2014 forecast above Wall Street's postulations. Mylan added it aims to make a significant transaction this year that would add to future earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average ascended 74.24 points or 0.46%, to 16,272.65. The S&P 500 profited 9.13 points or 0.49%, to 1,854.29, beating its previous record closing high set on January 15. The Nasdaq Composite accrued 26.869 points or 0.63%, to 4,318.933.

For this year, the S&P 500 index now goes up 0.3%.

After the bell, Gap Inc. shares slipped 1% to $43.24 after the clothing retailer listed results. Deckers Outdoor Corp. shares slid 12.5% to $74.05 after the company behind brands UGG boots and Teva sandals reported earnings.

In the regular session, J.C. Penney shares moved up 25.3% to $7.47, a day after the US department store chain predict more development in its comparable sales and gross profit margin this fiscal year. The S&P retail index advanced 4.2% for the week so far, including its slender gain of 0.1% on Thursday.

Among other retailers, Best Buy Co. Inc. posted a better than expected profit on Thursday. The stock escalated $28.19 before finishing at $25.57, down 1%. Sears Holding Corp posted a quarterly loss that slimmed from last year, sending its stock up 6.5% to $43.01. Kohl's Corp said it anticipated modest sales gains in its new fiscal year and listed a lower 4th quarter profit. Shares of Kohl's increased 2.4% to $55.74.

The day's economic data incurred to the optimistic tone, with orders for long-lasting US manufactured goods excluding transportation, or durable goods excluding transportation, and a benchmark of business spending abruptly improving in January. Around 6.5 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, below the 7 billion average so far this month, based on the data from BATS Global Markets.

Advancers surpassed decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, 17 stocks gained for every nine that dropped.