Stocks hovered along the flatline on Thursday as investors digested a delay to higher U.S. tariffs against Chinese imports along with a large bond buying program from Europe's central bank.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tiptoed up 4.71 points to 27,141.75, hoping to extend its win streak to seven straight sessions.
The S&P 500 added 28.43 points to 3,005.79, its highest level since late July.
The NASDAQ Composite added 28.43 points to 8,198.11
The Dow and S&P 500 entered Thursday's session less than 1% from record highs reached in July. The Dow also closed above 27,000 on Wednesday for the first time since July 30 while the S&P 500 broke above 3,000 for the first time since July 31.
The Kroger Company and Duluth Holdings are among the companies reporting earnings Thursday.
President Donald Trump agreed to delay an additional increase in tariffs on Chinese goods by two weeks "as a gesture of good will." The move raised hopes of a thaw in trade frictions between the world's two largest economies.
Elsewhere, investors digested the latest decision from policymakers at the European Central Bank. The ECB cut its deposit rate by10 basis point and launched a new bond buying program. The bank will buy €20 billion worth of assets for as long as needed.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, dropping yields to 1.73% from Wednesday's 1.74%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices fell $1.29 to $54.46 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $21.00 to $1,524.20 U.S. an ounce.