NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Dow Jones industrial average briefly traded above its record high close from January 2000 Thursday morning before backing off.

The 30-share Dow (up 5.60 to 11,694.84, Charts), the world's most widely watched stock market gauge, was up a few points 45 minutes into the session after briefly trading about two points above the record close of 11,722.98, hit on Jan. 14, 2000. The Dow's record trading high is 11,750.28.

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The broader S&P 500 (down 0.15 to 1,336.44, Charts) index was little changed after ending Wednesday at its highest point since Feb. 2001. The Nasdaq composite (up 1.37 to 2,264.76, Charts) hovered near unchanged too.

Stock gains Wednesday pushed the Dow to its second-highest close ever. But investors were reluctant to push it over the record amid higher oil prices and a weak read on durable goods orders.

On Thursday morning, investors tried again, aided by strength in GM and other industrial components. A weaker-than-expected read on gross domestic product growth was taken in stride, as it further fed the belief that the Federal Reserve can keep interest rates steady after more than two years of rate hikes.

Lower rates tend to boost stocks since they boost the economy, and corporate profits.

The Dow record in January 2000 came near the tail end of the Internet boom of the late 1990s. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hit their record highs roughly two months later.

But the broader market began to slide soon after, and the bursting of the Internet bubble, the recession that ended in 2001 and the events of 9/11 all contributed to a bear market that lasted for three years. After bottoming out in October 2002, stocks have slowly recovered.

General Motors (up $1.13 to $33.41, Charts), a Dow stock, jumped 3.5 percent on news that billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. is seeking to boost its holdings of the automaker's stock by about 12 million shares.

The pace of growth in the second quarter was slower than initially thought, the government said Thursday. GDP grew at a 2.6 percent annual rate, down from an initial read of 2.9 percent and 5.6 percent in the first quarter.

Treasury prices dipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to around 4.61 percent from 4.59 percent late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

U.S. light crude oil for November delivery fell 3 cents to $62.93 after jumping about 3 percent Wednesday.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose $4.90 to $608.20 an ounce.

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