The S&P 500 rose on Thursday and hit another record high as Wall Street kicked off the second half of 2021 on a positive note.

The benchmark index rose 0.5% and notched its sixth-straight record close, settling above 4,300 for the first time at 4,319.94. 

A stretch of strong economic news continued on Thursday as weekly initial jobless claims came in at 364,000, setting a pandemic-era low. Additionally, the Institute for Supply Management’s June manufacturing index showed an expansion that was roughly in line with expectations, and the Congressional Budget Office hiked its estimates for economic growth.

The most anticipated piece of economic news this week is Friday's monthly jobs report. Economists expect 683,000 jobs were added in June, according to a Dow Jones survey.

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Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes were mildly higher in early Friday morning trade as Wall Street awaited the key June jobs report and another glimpse at the recovering U.S. labor market.

U.S. investors await the Labor Department's all-important monthly jobs report that on Friday will show how many payrolls American employers added last month.

Economists expect nonfarm payrolls grew by 706,000 jobs in June and that the unemployment rate fell to 5.6% from 5.8%, according to Dow Jones. If employers added as many jobs as expected, the print would top the 559,000 jobs created in May.

Inflation is the purview of the Federal Reserve, which could move to curb its easy monetary policies sooner than expected — and potentially upset markets — if prices rise too fast.