By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs Thursday on a climb in consumer discretionary stocks as retailers rallied and a jump in tech stocks led by Apple and chip makers. 

The rose 0.34% to close above its prior all-time closing high of 4,701.70. The slipped 0.17%, or 60 points, the Nasdaq added 0.45% to close at record 15,993.71.

Apple (NASDAQ) closed at new records following reports by Bloomberg that Apple was increasing its plans for self-driving electric vehicles and will have them on the roads by 2025.

The news spurred bullish bets on tech, with some on Wall Street forecasting that entry into the EV market could add at least $30 per share to Apple’s share price.

“We continue to believe its a matter of when, not if, Apple enters the EV race and this will add another $30+ per share of TAM [total addressable market] to the Apple growth story over the next few years given the golden age of EV transformation on the horizon,” Wedbush said in a note.

Semiconductor stocks also played a role in the broader market’s advance, underpinned by Nvidia.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:) reported third-quarter results that topped analysts’ estimates following record growth in its gaming and data center businesses. More than 8% of its shares rose.

Surging retail stocks have helped to support consumer discretionary after better-than-expected quarter results. 

Bath Body Works (NYSE) saw a more than 5% increase after it provided better-than-expected guidance for the fourth quarter. This was in response to third-quarter results which exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Analysts on Wall Street welcomed bullish guidance, with Credit Suisse lifting its price target on the stock to $76 from $67 to reflect the company’s “strong consistency in driving revenue growth.”

Macy’s (NYSE:) also reported a third-quarter beat on both the top and bottom lines, sending its share price up more than 21%.

Amazon (NASDAQ) and Gap (NYSE:) were also a part of the consumer discretionary meltdown.

Energy continued to fall despite oil prices continuing to decline despite expectations of an increase in global supplies following China’s announcement that it will tap its crude reserves for energy to help cool rising prices.

The economic outlook was mixed. Jobless claims declined less than anticipated, and the Philly Fed manufacturing Index reached its highest point since March 1973.

The November Philly Fed Index jumped from 23.8 to 39.0, which is well over the consensus 24.0.

The Labor Department reported that 268,000 people filed for unemployment insurance in the week ended Nov. 13, missing economists’ forecasts for a fall to 260,000.

In IPO News Sweetgreen (NYSE: ) increased more than 30% in its debut on the public markets. The shares of the salad company opened at $52.