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The S&P 500 index closed on March 28 at a record high of 1,569, up 6 points or 0.4%.

The last time the S&P 500 index broke into new territory was on October 9, 2007, when it closed at 1,565.

The Dow Jones index was also up 0.4%, with a rise of 52 points taking it to a record 14,578.

The S&P 500 index closed on March 28 at a record high of 1,569

The S&P 500 index closed on March 28 at a record high of 1,569

The Nasdaq joined in the upbeat mood created by the smooth reopening of banks in Cyprus and generally positive economic news. It rose 11 points, or 0.3%, to close at 3,268.

The S&P has been near its record high for several weeks, despite the still sluggish performance of the US economy. This means it finishes the quarter 10% higher than its level at the beginning of the year and more than double its low point during the financial crisis.

In relatively light trading, the biggest gainers in the Dow Jones were two IT companies – IBM and Hewlett-Packard, both up over 1%. The biggest falls were by Chevron and JP Morgan Chase.

On the currency markets, the euro rose 0.4 cents to $1.282.

US markets will be shut for the Good Friday holiday.

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The US trade deficit, meaning the gap between the value of imports and exports, widened in January 2013.

The trade deficit grew to $44.45 billion in January from December’s figure of $38.14 billion, the Commerce Department said.

There was better news on unemployment, with a fall in the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits.

The Labor Department said the number of initial claims for state benefits fell 7,000 to 340,000.

The figure had been expected to rise.

The initial claims news will not affect the week’s most important economic news, which is Friday’s non-farm payrolls figure for February, because the weekly claims figures are for the beginning of March.

Much of the rise in imports came from a 12% increase in imports of oil.

The trade deficit for the whole of 2012 was revised down slightly to $539.5 billion, which was 3.6% below the level from 2011.

The US trade deficit, meaning the gap between the value of imports and exports, widened in January 2013

The US trade deficit, meaning the gap between the value of imports and exports, widened in January 2013