NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks advanced Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average crossing 11,900 for the first time, after big consumer names like McDonald’s Corp. gave investors hope that earnings would be strong despite a slowing economy.

The widely followed Dow index rose as high as 11,934.73 Thursday, topping a previous intraday high of 11,872.94. On Tuesday, the Dow closed at 11,867.17, its fourth record close in two weeks. Also Thursday, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index reached a 52-week intraday high.

The markets were more upbeat than on Wednesday, which saw a lackluster start to earnings season. Investors seemed to shrug off economic data that could stir concern about the health of the economy and instead focused on positives like low oil prices.

“In general, we’re getting friendly reports between oil inventories being up higher than expected and then some bellwether companies that are exceeding estimates,” said John C. Forelli, portfolio manager for Independence Investment LLC in Boston.

Crude inventories were up by more than Wall Street expected last week. The Energy Department said Thursday that stores of crude increased, though stocks of distillate fuel fell. The price of a barrel of light, sweet crude, which settled at a low for the year on Wednesday, rose 16 cents to $57.75 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Doubts remained about whether OPEC’s members will be able to agree on an immediate production cut.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 71.96, or 0.61 percent, at 11,924.09.

Broader stock indicators also moved higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 7.73, or 0.57 percent, at 1,357.68, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 18.32, or 0.79 percent, to 2,326.59.

Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.77 percent from 4.78 percent late Wednesday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

The Commerce Department reported that the country’s trade deficit rose to a record high in August. A separate report showed that the number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits grew by 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted total of 308,000. Unemployment remains low, however.

Kevin Logan, chief U.S. economist at Dresdner Kleinwort, said the markets tend to show little reaction to the trade data because, in terms of capital flows, foreign investors still prefer to hold dollars, which keeps the dollar stable.

“Without a deprecation of the dollar that forces up interest rates and inflation, then the equity market is not sensitive to changes in the monthly trade balances,” he said.

Investors were also awaiting the release, set for later Thursday, of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which summarizes regional economic activity.

In corporate news, McDonald’s rose 77 cents to $42.02 after saying systemwide same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose 9.8 percent in September. The world’s largest fast-food chain, and one of the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow, said its third-quarter profit would top Wall Street’s expectation.

Warehouse chain Costco Wholesale Corp., advanced $2.93, or 5.85 percent, to $53 after reporting its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 1 percent.

Yum Brands Inc., parent of the Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC fast-food chains, rose $4.60, or 8.43 percent, to $59.17 after reporting that its third-quarter profit rose 12 percent, aided by growth in China. The company raised its full-year profit forecast above Wall Street’s expectation.

PepsiCo fell 79 cents to $63.07 despite posting a 71 percent increase in its third-quarter profit. The snack food and soft drink maker said sales rose 9 percent from the year-ago period, which was hurt by a tax charge. The company’s forecast, however, was about a penny short of Wall Street’s expectation.

Deluxe Corp., which makes products like checks and business cards, jumped $3.18, or 17.46 percent, to $21.39 after raising its third-quarter and full-year profit forecasts as manufacturing and other costs fell.

CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. rose $1.91, or 7.88 percent, to $26.14 after Standard & Poor’s said it would swap the real-estate company into the S&P 500 index to replace BellSouth Corp., which is being acquired by AT&T Inc. AT&T was up 54 cents at $33.50.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 648.9 million shares, compared with 623.5 million shares traded at the same point Wednesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 8.30, or 1.12 percent, at 750.01.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average closed down 0.19 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.79 percent, Germany’s DAX index was up 0.67 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.91 percent.